THE HUNT BEGINS
by Douglas Fett
Summary: The eleventh RP of my main character, Douglas Fett. He finally becomes a bounty hunter
1. I'm no Private Eye

WAR

The Jedi heroes of the Mandalorian Wars – Revan and Malak, and all their forces arrayed under them – have returned to the galaxy, as Sith. Their reason for going into the Unknown Regions - to hunt down cells of remaining Mandalorians - an obvious con, the two new Sith Lords have begun forming a new Sith Empire in the Outer Rim. After building up their strength and biding their time, the two former Jedi have invaded the Republic at long last.

Whilst the Republic and Sith battle it out for domination of the galaxy, their former Mandalorian foes, on the verge of extinction, struggle to survive on worlds they had once conquered. As the Jedi Civil War heats up, and the old bounty on Mandalorians grows cold, many Mandalore Warriours have become mercenaries throughout the galaxy's criminal underworld. Others try and relive the glory days and have become bandits, murderers, outlaws and the like. One Mandalorian, no longer on the run from bounty hunters, and eager to put his martial prowess to use, has joined the profession of his pursuers….

This is that story.

 _Dramatis Personae_

Douglas Fett – Male Human Mandalorian

Zu'mar Duras'sie – Male Assembler

Rajja – Male Hutt

Irkchik Nas Torr – Male Saurin

Suuvarsh – Female Ubese

Terran Haas – Male Human

Palscho Alto – Male Ithorian

Munshaan – Male Stereb

 _And a surprise cameo…_

 _Author's Note: This is a new RP, no rewrites or retcons, except for some MAJOR details. Friends of mine who are aware of my older pieces will notice the main detail immediately. Otherwise, enjoy the show_.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

 **3,958**

 **Mid Rim – Hutt Space**

 _Come on, give me something…_ I thought to myself, irritated as I scanned the frequencies aboard my Basilisk. Weeks ago I had paid off the bounty on my head, the great weight that dogged me for a good couple years. I had decided after all this time of running to become a bounty hunter, like those that preyed on me - and failed. Now here I was in Hutt space, looking for jobs. I was using my Basilisk's comm scramblers to sift through dozens of frequencies, looking for anything. I had found minor jobs here and there – gambler's debts, personal but small time vendettas, etc. Nothing big, nothing worth my time. I wanted a real mark.

Annoyed, I tuned out the frequency chatter and looked around the ship. My equipment was in the back, while my rifle and pistol were on the passenger seat next to me. I had my armor on, as always, in case things got hot or if I finally found _something_. It hadn't seen action in a while, not since Concord Dawn. I thought of my old comrades on Concord Dawn, old man Tavish and his two sons. Their deaths were still ever present in my mind. I had met a good many people during the last few years. Mawbo, Soody Wumba, Captain Blackfoot, Bogart… _and the women_. Lust or love, there were women that I had met. Boudica, from my childhood, Camille on Coruscant, Tejah on Arbra, and Josephine on Concord Dawn. I missed all of them. While the galaxy at large and the _aruetiise_ thought of us Mandalorians as all un-feeling killers, what they didn't understand was how true to our hearts we really were. Sure we're warriors, but what they could never understand was that we made bonds too. Simple as that.

There was one odd one out of the bunch I had almost forgotten – the arachnid assembler, Zu'mar Duras'sie. An information dealer. _Maybe he could help_ I thought. I returned to the comms and immediately punched in his data. I waited for a few moments before I got a reply.

" _Ah, good evening Fett. It has been quite some time. How are you?_ " Zu'mar asked in his usual formal tone.

"I'm well. I need information Zu'mar. Maybe you can help me."

" _Perhaps. What are you looking for_?"

"Bounties. Big ones. Top marks."

" _Ah. So you've become a hunter then. Most excellent. And now you seek a target worthy of your time_."

Zu'mar was insightful and intelligent. His current occupation suited him. "Yes."

" _Hmm…of course. Just one moment then_." Zu'mar replied. Less than one minute had gone by when he spoke again. " _I found something. But you might not like it_."

"Just don't hire me off to a jealous wife Zu'mar. I'm no PI."

" _Nothing like that. If you feel so inclined, you might want to head to Club Diverso on Nar Shaddaa. The club owner is hiring operators for a job_."

"Go on." I said without hesitation.

" _Club owner is Rajja the Hutt. It seems it's a closed assignment, except to those with a special invite…_ "

"Tell me." I replied. Zu'mar relayed to me simple instructions and a code word.

" _Anything else?_ "

"No."

" _Very well. I trust this shall be a most rewarding first time mark, Fett. Let me know how it goes._ "

"Will do, Zu'mar. Will do." Zu'mar and I cut the line. I could barely contain my excitement. I looked to the passenger seat, as if expecting a partner or _anyone_ to share the moment with. I shook my head at the sentiment, and set course for Nar Shaddaa.


	2. Nal Varl

**Y'toub System – Nar Shaddaa**

It wasn't a long hyperspace trip to the Smuggler's Moon. I used my Basilisk's computers to locate this "Club Diverso," and located a landing pad nearby. It was in the Hutt sector of Nar Shaddaa, known as _Nal Varl_. I hadn't much experience of the Hutts, only knowledge. All I knew was, they were fat blobs that once had an empire, and were now just major crime lords. Simple as that. I landed the Basilisk, equipped my gear, and set off.

Nar Shaddaa was as it always had been – dark, grimy, and smelly. It wasn't just oil that stained the ground and buildings. At least we Mandalorians cleaned up after ourselves. Damn _aruetiise_ put no faith in basic hygiene or cleanliness. It sounded crazy, sure, Mandalorians putting value into such things – however, people can't operate well if their bodies are diseased. The night sky had a dark green hue to it, a symptom of centuries of pollution.

A dock officer, a Gran henchman, approached, but paused as I exited the Basilisk. This might have been my second time to the Vertical City, but it was probably his first time seeing a Mandalorian. I walked by him, saw he had choked on his words, and simply flipped him a credstick. _Whatever_ I thought dryly. I walked through the dirty streets of the neighborhood, past merchants, local denizens, and small cantinas. I got the usual stares. It was odd, being among…so _many sentients. Aruetiise_ , anyway. Usually these crowds had been trying to kill me…now they just simply stared, and I had no reason to fight them.

My current affairs led me eventually to Club _Diverso_. The club's blue neon lights brightly lit up the word "Diverso" before forming into the shape of a half-naked woman. The bouncer let me in, and the obvious "main attractions" were on stage doing what they did best. I headed straight to the bar, the exotic pink and orange lights setting the mood for the joint. The patrons ignored me as they watched the women on stage. A Twi'lek gal approached and started her sweet-talk routine with me as I reached the bar, but I ignored her and played the quiet type. Seeing she'd have to put too much time into me to get any credits or even a drink, she walked off. I had my back to the bar, eyeing the establishment. I was looking for somewhere that Rajja could be found. Various guards kept watch over the door to the girls' dressing room, but those Gank bodyguards standing by the turbolift caught my eye. They noticed my attention as well, and kept an eye on me. I turned back around to the bar, mindful of the guards and their interests. The bartender, a Near-Human of some sort, meandered over to me.

"What'll it be?"

" _Varl Beeska_." I answered. Now was the time to see if Zu'mar's information was worth it.

The bartender paused for a moment, before turning to make a drink on the counter behind him. I watched him, suspicious. Was this a trap? I noticed him press a button on the underside of the counter, and a few moments later turned around to give me a drink. He looked me straight in the visor, and nodded with his head towards the lift. _Head on up_. I dropped a credstick on the counter and passed the drink to the bloke next to me at the bar. I walked off towards the turbolift. The Gank guards stood aside, having already admitted plenty of people to see their master. I entered the turbolift, and went up.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

The turbolift opened, to a room full of more Gank guards, a small number of bounty hunters, and the Hutt himself on his dais. The room had one-way windows on the left wall, overlooking the stage. Adjacent the windows was a small bar, while on the right side of the room was Rajja on his dais. The Hutt was flanked by his guards and with his guests standing in front of him. My entrance warranted everyone's interest – and blasters – on me.

"Hold your fire men. You, Mandalorian. How did you get up here? GUARDS!" Rajja yelled. The Ganks had already come into range to blast me at point blank, and forced me into a corner of the room. Rajja was on the comm to the guards downstairs. After a few minutes, Rajja got the picture. I had been allowed entrance after using the right pass phrase. Now there was suspicion of where I had learned it from. Rajja was on the comm again, speaking to all his contacts. After several more minutes of talking and myself restrained by his guards, the bounty hunters crowding and talking, Rajja looked over at me.

"Let him go. Mandalorian, I understand you're looking for a mark." Rajja began. Apparently he had some friends in high places…His guards backed off, and I walked forward. The other bounty hunters looked at me with suspicion and incredulity.

"I was told you had a job needed doing, Hutt."

"I do. This job was a special invite for these gentlemen, but another bounty hunter could help. Especially one of your kind. Now then, where was I?" Rajja asked.

The other bounty hunters walked back over, but kept their distance. I identified them. There was a Saurin, an Ithorian, Ubese, Human, and a Stereb. They were obviously all seniors in the trade, and probably didn't like a newcomer making his way right in. _Whatever_.

"The money, Rajja." The Saurin said.

"Ten million Republic Credits, divided between the victors." Rajja replied. It was a lot of money – high price for a big mark. I was getting anxious. I wanted to hear who it was. Rajja activated a holo. "My client has placed a bounty on a Mandalorian general. Cassus Fett. A survivor of the last war."

I didn't know what to say or do. My first instinct was to walk out. I wouldn't hunt a fellow Mandalorian. I wanted to confront Zu'mar on this. After a moment I calmed myself. This was my first bounty. I told myself I was going to do it, and that was that. The past was the past – I was a bounty hunter, and what came before didn't matter. Only the mission mattered.

"What did this 'Fett' do to earn himself a bounty?" The Ithorian asked.

"Made a name for himself in the war as the Mandalorian leader's right hand man, killed millions. Topped it off by personally killing a Republic Captain at Jaga's Cluster." Rajja elaborated. The Battle of Jaga's Cluster. Cassus had gone into hiding after that. Apparently, somebody had found him.

"With a Mandalorian around, I'm sure it'll be easy finding this _Cassus_." The human said. I looked at him through my visor, and noticed his sneer. I didn't like it. I made it a point to return the attitude when all was said and done.

"Perhaps. My client has already given us a tip. There's a mining operation on Omman Minor that they believe is a front set up by Cassus. I'm sending my own men to aid you all on this mission." Rajja said. _Probably wanted more than a finder's fee_ I mused to myself. "That is all, bounty hunters." Rajja said. As I turned to leave, the Saurin and the Ithorian confronted me.

"Hey. You." The Saurin started. He pointed at me as he and the Ithorian drew near. I turned to look at them, but said nothing. The other hunters gave our exchange a passing glance before heading for the turbolift.

"This one's quiet. Too quiet. Those are always the odd ones, Irkchik."

"You got that right. Listen here, Mandalorian. I can tell you're new. I can smell it. You might think you're the hot new blaster jock-"

"Don't lecture me and don't waste my time. Get to the point." I said, cutting him off. The Saurin seemed to scowl at that, while the Ithorian crossed his arms.

"Fine. Here's the rules in bounty hunting: Don't waste your life over a bounty. Credits aren't worth dying for. Second: The mark is the main priority. Being a bounty hunter doesn't give you a license to kill everyone in sight."

"Didn't plan on it. Continue."

"We bounty hunters work together when we're co-hired by the same employer. We fight as a team. We don't fight each other for the money. When we work solo, we don't try and take each other's bounties. Lastly, we're not murderers or butchers. If you capture a target, the job is done. You don't execute a prisoner. We aren't in the business to make a bloodbath. We're professionals. We respect each other and we're not out for blood. Do you understand, Mandalorian?"

It was all self-explanatory, and it was nothing I was surprised by. "You don't have to worry about me, Saurin."

"If you say so. I'm Irkchik Nas Torr. My Ithorian friend is Palscho Alto. The human you saw with us is Terran Haas, the Ubese is Suuvarsh, and the Stereb is Munshaan. And you?"

"Fett. Douglas Fett." I replied.

"Must be personal then." The Ithorian said.

I waved it off. The Saurin and the Ithorian looked like seasoned hunters. I realized that despite my own experience in the war, there was something new to being a bounty hunter. I hated being the "new guy" in a trade where my background surpassed those around me, but I'd have to suck it up for the time being.

As we left Rajja's quarters to head back downstairs, my mind settled on our target. Cassus Fett. I couldn't get it out of my head. I was hunting a fellow Mandalorian, and a Fett. I tried to wrap my mind around having to hunt him, that it was just a job. The mark came first, everything else second. Rajja's girls went on about their business as we left, and the clientele barely noticed our exit. As we went outside the club and headed for the landing pads, the other human called out to me.

"You got your own ship, Mando?" He asked. Terran Haas was his name. His distaste for me was evident in his voice.

"That's no concern of yours." I replied coolly. He shrugged.

"Just making sure. We all flew in on the same ship, and there's no room left for you." Terran said back. Meaning, _you're on your own, dude_.

Terran and the Stereb, Munshaan, spoke with each other. I couldn't tell if they were having a serious private conversation, or snickering at me. The Ubese was silent and didn't make small talk. The Ithorian, Palscho Alto, and the Saurin, Irkchik Nas Torr, were talking about weapons. I was the new guy, an outsider, and if I wanted into the bounty hunter community, I'd have to work for it. Very well. We got to the landing pads, and before splitting to our ships, Irkchik gave me coordinates for the planet. There was no time to waste. We got into our ships, left Nar Shaddaa, and blasted off into hyperspace.


	3. No lollygagging

**Outer Rim – Omman Minor**

Many in the galaxy wondered where he had run off to. The few who did knew only that he was a war veteran, and wanted some peace and quiet. They knew he was rich and smart enough to run a mining operation so far out into this corner of the galaxy. They knew he was private, and a bit on the paranoid side. What they didn't know was that he was wanted by Republic authorities. What they didn't know was that he once held the galaxy by the throat, that he defeated Republic forces at every turn, that he slaughtered his enemies by the thousands.

What they didn't know was that he was Cassus Fett, strategist, tactician, and supreme field marshal for Te Ani'la Mand'alor. His master, now dead, was the ultimate warlord to challenge the Republic since Exar Kun. What they didn't know was that Cassus Fett was a war criminal, on the run from the Republic, but still fighting his enemies in his own way.

What they didn't know was that Cassus Fett was still fighting the war, building up strength, numbers, and an army. What they didn't know was that Cassus Fett, unless defeated completely, was still a larger threat than Revan and Malak ever were.

Still, they did know Cassus kept to himself, and didn't like the rest of the galaxy finding him. They knew him as simply a veteran, though they didn't know who he _really_ was. The mining operation he had begun on Omman Minor was a novel thing at best, a joke at worst. A man of his competence had bigger and better goals in mind, so why was he wasting time out in this pit of the galaxy? The mining foreman, Chigg Yagner, thought as much as he walked over to the man's stone hut. It was situated just a short walk from the mining operation, uphill from the quarry and in the woods. The day was ending, the sun was just beginning to set. He knocked on the door.

"Come in." The man said with a forceful tone. Chigg walked in.

"Evenin' sir." Chigg said. Donnigan Reldarry, as they knew him, was at work at the planning table – literally. Chigg wondered what motivated him. Why would a war veteran, after years of fighting, all of a sudden want to run a mine way out here in the Outer Rim? Chigg knew better than to ask such a direct question to a man of his stature. He valued his privacy.

"Mr. Yagner." Donnigan said, without turning around from the table. He was hard at work on…something.

"Just letting you know I'm calling it a day. I'm sending the men home, sir." Chigg began. One of the devices on Donnigan's desk began blaring an annoying sound. Was it an alarm beacon? Mr. Reldarry hid any panic or worry he might have had, and turned the device off.

"Send the men home. Give them the week off. With pay." Mr. Reldarry replied.

"That's very generous of you sir, thank you."

"Was that all?" Mr. Reldarry asked quickly. He wanted Chigg out. Fast.

"No sir. Good night sir." Chigg said.

He left, not wanting to bother his employer any more. He noted that the man seemed rushed, pressed for time. He certainly wanted Chigg out of there. Chigg wondered on this as he walked down the gravel path. It was time to get the men home. In the distance, he saw starships come down out of space. At least two freighters – troop carriers, maybe? Smaller warships, and…a Mandalorian warship? Chigg hurried up. He may have been an Outer Rim miner, but he knew when things were going to "pop off." Chigg's stride turned into a full run.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

We blasted out of hyperspace over the world of Omman Minor. The other bounty hunters all flew together in one freighter. They were probably a team. Rajja's Gank troops flew in a separate ship. The bounty hunter's ship took lead and headed down to the planet's surface. The Ganks and I followed down after them. We broke atmosphere, and took 'er down just over the planet. We were flying above a woodsy area.

" _We're making for a forest clearing. We'll touch down there and head out_." Palscho said over the comm.

I replied simply with 'Rog' before landing in the open clearing. I set the Basilisk down, while the bounty hunters and Ganks landed opposite me. I equipped my rifle and pistol, did a systems check on my armor, and exited the ship. The others were exiting their ships too as I walked into the middle of the clearing to confer with Irkchik and company. The other hunters were all equipped with a variety of weapons. Palscho the Ithorian had a blaster rifle that sported two barrels, mounted atop it's lower assembly and buttstock. Terran the Human had a blaster pistol and a miniature grenade launcher. The Stereb, Munshaan, had a machine pistol and a vibroblade. Suuvarsh the Ubese sported a long rifle with tri-light scope. Irkchik himself dual-wielded a vibrosword and what appeared to be a Trandoshan fashioned hatchet, while a slugthrower pistol rested in his thigh holster. One of Rajja's high enforcers, a Chev, was commanding the platoon of Ganks that had landed with us. He set them to form a perimeter before joining us in the center.

"We need a plan. What's our move?" The Chev asked. I stayed quiet, and let the team talk.

Terran spoke first. "Simple. Move out. Shoot anyone that gets in the way. Knock off this Cassus guy, identify the body for the Hutt, job is done."

"It's never that simple and you know it!" Irkchik spat back. The Ubese, whose gender I couldn't identify underneath the light armor and mask, spoke in it's native language, which I couldn't understand. Seemed as though Suuvarsh agreed though.

"We need to locate the mine. Gorman," Palscho began, speaking to the Chev, "can you send a squad ahead to scout out the area?"

The Chev, who I now knew as Gorman, replied "can do boss."

"The Ganks can provide recon, and we'll move out in the morning." Palscho said. That struck me as a bad plan. I shook my head.

"And lose any element of surprise? Make a night attack. We can move out after sunset, leave behind some of the Ganks to provide rear security, and use the rest at the mine." I said. The other hunters looked at me, some impressed, others irritated that a newcomer would speak. After a few moments of looking at me and then each other, they all nodded in agreement.

"Yah, alright, we'll go with the Mando plan. No hesitation about going after this Cassus guy, right Fett?" Terran asked with a snide grin. I leveled my eyes at him behind my helmet.

"It's just another target." I replied.

Irkchik nodded approvingly. "Sounds good. Gorman send your men out and leave a squad here. We'll meet with you at the objective at nightfall." Gorman nodded and moved out, gathering most of the Ganks and began moving south-east. One squad remained for security at the landing site. With that, the other hunters began to go back into their ship, probably to sit around and bullshit, or just nap.

I wasn't content to lollygag though. "Irkchik." I said. The Saurin stopped and turned as I walked over. The other hunters watched too.

"What do you want Fett?"

"I'm going with the recon party." I said. The Saurin stared at me and shrugged.

"Alright. Good on ya, Fett. Send us a hail when the time is right." Irkchik replied. He and the other hunters went back into the ship. I met up with Gorman and the Ganks, who weren't far off into the woods.

"You coming with us, Mandalorian?" The Chev asked.

"Yes. Lead the way."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Cassus stood at the bottom of the quarry, just at the foot of the entrance into the underground mine the civilian workers had been chipping away at for weeks. The cliff face looming above the mine was etched by a crisscross trail, leading up to the woods and to his personal quarters. Facing the quarry was a sprawling open bed of gravel and rocks, dominated by a few larger boulders that eventually gave way to more forest. Overhead, sunlight was fading. Down below, his men – the troops – were venturing into the mine to retrieve the cargo.

Fett hoped to have the cargo retrieved that night, and be off world immediately after. Somehow though, he had an inkling that something was wrong. Those starships that landed earlier…had the Republic found him? Curses.

It was that sixth sense, the type one develops being on the run, that was yelling at him in the back of his mind to do something. The men inside the mine needed to continue their work. Precious cargo was inside that needed to be extracted and carried out.

If the threat was real, he needed to be prepared. He only had a handful of men left to defend the quarry. He ordered those standing by to take positions in whatever cover they could find in the quarry. He hated walking away from his troops, but he needed to be ready. He began marching up the cliff trail back to his hut.


	4. Then there was a firefight!

I moved through the forest with the Ganks and the Chev enforcer that was leading them. They were muscle, but they didn't move with military discipline. Apparently they hadn't heard of 'the wedge' but whatever. As long as they didn't rush ahead and spook our target, that's what mattered.

Our target. Cassus Fett. A voice in my head was telling me it was wrong to hunt – and kill – other Mandalorians, but the past was the past. All men had their own unique fates, their deaths eventual and unyielding. Cassus had been Mandalore's right hand man, went rogue, and was now on the run. I survived, regrouped and reconsolidated my wits about me, and decided to become a bounty hunter. Cassus just happened to be my first bounty. It was nothing personal, just two warriors doing what they thought was right.

I shook the doubts out of my head as I moved forward. The edge of the woodline – and a quarry – was in sight. The last rays of daylight evaporated as we came to a halt and concealed ourselves behind trees and forest shrubs. I used my helmet scanners to survey the quarry ahead. There were four hostiles, armed, concealed behind boulders. Behind them was the entrance to the supposed 'mining operation.' The mine entrance was at the bottom of a very high cliff. Gorman and his guys kept their weapons aimed dead ahead, but kept their fingers out of the trigger wells. This was recon, not wetwork. Not yet, at least. I called in to the other bounty hunters.

"We've found the quarry. There are four-"

Terran cut me off. " _Is Cassus there?_ "

Haas was going to get his, but I stuffed the annoyance for the moment. "Negative."

" _We'll be there in an hour. Sit tight Fett, see you soon._ " Palscho replied. I cut the line and continued spying on the scene ahead.

Something wasn't right. Why was there only four men here to stop us? They were already taking cover behind boulders, how had they known we were here? Where was Cassus, and why was the mine entrance illuminated? Were there more men inside? Questions abound, as I-

A shot rang out. I quickly looked to my left. A Gank was yelling and shooting at something on the ground. Some wild animal spooked him. Damn fool gave us away. Immediately, the hostiles behind the boulders began shooting. The Gank who had given us away took blaster bolts to the neck and shoulder and went down instantly. The rest of the Ganks opened fire.

I swore, irritated, and opened fire with my rifle. Wood and shrubs erupted as enemy fire ripped into the woods, while our fire simply smoked small dents in the giant boulders. This needed to end, fast. I got down underneath cover, where Gorman was reloading his rifle with a fresh blaster pack.

I had to yell to be heard over the blaster fire. "I'm going to flank left! Keep them pinned down!"

"You got it!"

I got up, and 'crouch ran' left, away from the main firefight. Blaster bolts whizzed by me as I dove for cover behind a fallen tree. I low crawled another 20m just to be safe, and sure that the hostiles didn't see me. I looked up, and saw their fire was directed on the Ganks. I had to act fast. I scanned the area ahead of me. The opening of the quarry was just at the edge of the woodline, with some boulders for cover. I could flank along the interior edge of the quarry and move in from there.

I slung my rifle and equipped my pistol, to be less encumbered when I moved. Ready, I stood up and bolted for the quarry, jumping over a fallen tree, over some roots, and skidded over pebbles to behind a boulder. Another check of the firefight revealed the Ganks had finally pinned the hostiles down with suppressive fire. I moved ahead to eliminate the closest guy.

I found him, a human, mid 20s, crouched behind a boulder, blaster fire ripping into the rock, and overhead. He looked up at the last minute, right before I fired a blaster bolt square into his forehead. His mates, seeing this, opened fire on me. I jumped to his boulder, taking cover adjacent to his corpse. I turned to look at the woodline, and gestured Gorman and the Ganks to move up. They began to leave the woodline, while keeping a steady stream of suppressive fire on the rocks.

Meanwhile I prepped a frag grenade, as enemy fire pinned my boulder. Still crouching behind cover, I tossed it over in their direction. I heard a yell, before the three retreated towards the mine entrance. I fired off a few bolts, just before the grenade exploded. One was knocked back, one got into the mines, and another had taken a bolt to his calf and was now pulling at the ground to try and get to the mine.

I got up and rushed to them, while the Ganks moved in. Gorman moved to the guy blown up by the grenade and began searching him. I checked the guy I shot in the calf, who was near-human. I kicked his weapon away, while one of the Gank trained his weapon on him. I stepped onto his lower back, pistol aimed at his spine. He groaned in pain.

"Just stop moving. You'll only hurt yourself more." I said to him. Gorman approached me.

"The other one is dead."

"Good. Call camp, get the rest of them over here."

Gorman began calling the other bounty hunters over the comm, while the troop of Ganks surrounded the mine entrance. I patted down my prisoner for any other weapons, before turning him over onto his back. His leg was fried, but he was otherwise alive. He looked up at me with surprise.

"You? But you're-"

"Just answer my questions." I said, kneeling down on top of him. I pressed a knee into his pelvis, while I lightly gripped his throat. Couldn't choke him out, had to allow him to speak.

"The hell do you want to know?"

"Where's Cassus?"

"Beats me, he left!"

It had gotten dark out. I activated my helmet's night vision and continued questioning him. "How convenient. What was he digging up?"

"Go look for yourself, traitor!" He exclaimed.

"What did you just say?!" I asked, aggravated. I gripped his throat a little tighter.

"You're fighting your own kind! Cassus…urgh…brought us together, gave us purpose! The Mandalorians will rise again!"

Immediately I knew what was happening here. I had seen other incidents on the holonet, heard tales from spacers who had ventured into the wrong corners of the galaxy. Pockets of surviving Mandalorians, banding together to live like the old days…instead becoming bandits, just raiding and pillaging on isolated worlds. Except these men weren't Mandalorians. They were just hired muscle, that were 'converted' by Cassus. Whether he had taught them the Mandalorian way or not, these men weren't true Mandalorians. They were just desperate hired guns looking for a leader. I shook my head.

"They'll rise one day, but not with pitiful scum like you." I said, before shooting his lights out. I stood up and turned to Gorman.

"They're on their way. Should we move in or hold off until the others get here?" Gorman asked.

"Standby. Guard the entrance, make sure no one goes in or out." I replied.


	5. Fatal Funnel

Cassus, under the cover of night, watched the battle develop from a high point overlooking the quarry. His armor – modified since the final days of the Mandalorian Wars – adorned his body, while his high powered blaster pistol was holstered at his side.

He stood, surveying the chaos below. An enemy force, around at least a dozen, had attacked his men in the quarry. His troops, decently trained, managed to hold their ground and kill a few. But it was all for naught. A lone figure – a Mandalorian in full kit – flanked around. He managed to kill one, while his allies moved forward.

The Mandalorian had thrown a grenade, killing one more, then injuring another with a blaster, while the last managed to escape into the mine. His allies secured the mine entrance, while another called others over the comm.

Cassus pulled a scope out of his kit and zoomed down on the scene. Who were they? And who was the Mandalorian?

/\/\/\/\/\/\/

The other bounty hunters finally arrived. With them were the other Ganks, even though they were held back for the purposes of rear security. Gorman saw them and threw his hands up in frustration.

"Who told them to come back?!"

Terran spoke. "Relax guy, the LZ will be fine. Besides, looks like you need them for this here mine." He said, scoping it out as he walked by.

Irkchik grunted. "Terran is right. Mines have many tunnels, we will need the Hutt's foot soldiers to search inside."

Gorman looked irritated. He didn't like his Master's henchmen being misused. But this mission was getting complicated. "Fine! But you bounty hunters will go inside with them. My squad and I will guard outside!"

Suuvarsh remarked something in Ubese, and Palscho Alto replied, "Yes, you can stay out here too. Sniper rifles do no good in close quarters. Fett?"

I had been watching the exchange, mulling in my head the information I had learned. Cassus was digging something up here, he had maybe fled the scene, and was now hiring anyone and everyone for a new Mandalorian war machine. I felt divided…I replied with only the information they needed to know.

"One of Cassus' mercs said he left. Could be lying. He may be inside or miles away now."

The Ithorian nodded and looked at the mine. "Right. Well it's our best lead. Let's get in there."

The group split up from there. Suuvarsh the Ubese, with Gorman and his Ganks, took cover and concealment in the woods to protect the entrance. Terran, Munshaan, Palscho and Irkchik, along with the rest of the Ganks, headed into the mine. I followed behind them.

Lines of bright green chem lights were strung along the rocky ceiling, which wasn't enough to illuminate the entire mine. It was enough however to illuminate the lot of us as we entered. As we packed inside the bottleneck, I already knew what was about to happen.

Blaster bolts from deeper in the mine ripped into the lead Ganks. In their native tongue they began shouting, and running further into the mine for cover. The other bounty hunters – Irkchik, Terran, Palscho and Munshaan – were running and shooting as we entered the mine proper. With my visor's NV activated, I surveyed the scene ahead of me as I dropped into the prone.

The bottleneck – really just a fatal funnel – descended into a large cavern, which was also barely illuminated with chem lights. A single generator towards the rear of the cavern powered a handful of lights strung about the corners and the middle of the cavern. Waist-high boulders were strewn about the rocky ground, which was only a few inches underwater. The rest of Cassus' men were behind cover, the boulders. They had been waiting for us, and opened fire as soon as we came into sight.

Gank corpses lined the entryway into the cavern, but a few losses didn't deter us. The Ganks returned fire, while the other bounty hunters, equipped with their specialized weapons, got into the thick of it too. From my prone position next to a Gank, I flicked my rifle's selector switch to burst, and opened fire on Cassus' men as they popped their heads and bodies out of cover.

As the firefight was underway, the bounty hunters settled into their natural rhythm. Terran and Munshaan, the Human and Stereb hunters, engaged the enemy with their weapons. Terran sported a modified blaster pistol, while Munshaan kept the mercs pinned down with his blaster sub-machine gun. Palscho and Irkchik, meanwhile, moved around on the flanks. Palscho, for an Ithorian, was very agile. He moved right, flanking the mercs who were pinned down, and shooting them point blank with his double barreled blaster rifle. Irkchik on the other hand equipped his hatched and sword, and sliced one merc to pieces, then another.

It was time to finish them. I stood up and began walking forward, continuing to suppress the enemy with a continuous rate of fire. The Ganks, along with Terran and Munshaan, got on line beside me. We walked forward, picking off surviving mercs, while Palscho and Irkchik on the flanks ripped into their victims.

We passed by boulders, and enemy corpses, going deeper to the rear of the cavern. Soon enough the screams of the enemy dying ceased. We came to the end of the cavern, where we met with the Saurin and Ithorian. The last merc was Irkchik's kill, who he finished by stabbing in the chest with the sword, then with the hatchet slicing through his throat. Blood sprayed onto the cavern wall, lit by one of the generator's lights.

Munshaan laughed. "That's how I like 'em. Dead and dumb!"

I directed a couple Ganks to double tap on the bodies. Make sure they were dead, and to sift through their clothing for anything of value. Specifically intel on Cassus. Irkchik and the other hunters meanwhile gathered around a large metal crate at the rear of the cavern, which looked as though it had been plucked from deeper inside.

"What the hell is this?" Terran asked, tapping it with his blaster pistol. I approached, looking at the crate. It's design was _very_ familiar.

"I know what it is." I said, joining the group. They all looked at me, confused and indifferent.

"Then what is it?" Munshaan asked.

I ran my hand along the top of the crate, resting my fingers on the corner edge. I tapped the side, where there was printed word. "It's Mandalorian." I replied.

Taken aback, the other four looked at the finer details of the crate. Sure enough, they found Mando'a script on the sides. "Fett, what does it say?" Terran asked, still looking.

I shook my head. "It says a lot. This was a backup plan, during the war. Mandalore ordered hidden bases and weapons caches to be set up on remote worlds, part of a contingency plan in case the war went against us."

"Well it didn't help him much." Palscho replied. _No, it really fucking didn't_ I thought to myself.

"So Cassus was digging up a weapons cache. Why?" Terran asked. Irkchik shook his head.

"Doesn't matter. We'll get this thing out of here and check out if the Ganks found anything. We don't have any leads besides what's in this mine." Irkchik replied.

My mind was swimming with thoughts. What if Cassus was for real? Mandalore's right hand man, my distant relative, didn't play games. Digging up an old weapons cache was a big move for him, especially since _somebody_ – probably the Republic – wanted his head. For the past two years, I had been searching for purpose, a meaning, just like these poor sods we smoked and bloodied. What if I was fighting on the wrong side?

No. Stick with it. The wars were over. My people had been defeated. Revan had bested us and now was invading the Republic as a blasted Sith Lord. The time of the great clans was over. Maybe in another century or two, but for now, the Mandalorians were defeated. I had to be realistic, get with the program. I had chosen to be a bounty hunter, I wanted this job, I was going to see it through.

My body was on auto-pilot, as I followed the rest of the hunters out. The Ganks were tasked with carrying the weapons crate out of the mine. Outside in the quarry, the other bounty hunters convened and talked. Gorman met up with them to talk about the next plan. I stood off to the side, leaning against a boulder and thinking. All of the Ganks, including those in the woodline, surrounded the weapons crate as their comrades from the mine brought it outside.


	6. Hunter and Hunted

Cassus, perched atop the cliff, watched as the main group of bounty hunters circled together and talked. The other one – his kin, a fellow Mandalorian – stood a ways off, alone. Curious, very curious.

He also observed the group of aliens who were crowding around _his_ property. That weapons crate belonged to the Mandalorians. No matter. He had just the thing for interlopers.

Cassus plucked from his belt's utility pouch a small remote detonator. He looked down, hovered his thumb over the red button, and pressed it.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

As I was leaning against the boulder, I glanced over at the Ganks. They were going crazy over all the weapons inside the crate. One pulled out a bazooka and was shouting like a kid on his birthday. Another plucked out an automatic blaster cannon, and another –

I was knocked down to the ground, a huge explosion having erupted from the crate, lighting up the night for an instant before going quiet again. I shook my head and pulled myself up, checking for injuries or shrapnel. I was unharmed, though my armor took a few shrapnel pieces – now inoperable weapon shards – but was still in one piece. The Ganks however had all been fried or killed instantly, their bodies thrown everywhere around the quarry. The other hunters, off a distance, were knocked to the ground, but were recovering. I immediately took cover behind a boulder and crouched, still slightly disoriented.

"What the hell?!" I heard Terran yell. He and the others came rushing over to the now destroyed crate, stepping over bloody Gank corpses. Cautious, I stood up, blaster rifle equipped, and came out from behind the boulder, surveying the area around us.

Suuvarsh said something in Ubese, as they looked at the crate and all the dead Ganks. Munshaan grunted in agreement, and Irkchik shook his head. "It was a trap. Cassus knew we were coming and set charges!"

Terran turned to look at me, suspicious and angry. "Fett! I should have known you were an insider!"

He charged me, and I countered by sidestepping and bashing his face with my rifle's buttstock. As he lost balance, I gave him a good kick to the rear, sending him to the ground. I turned to the other bounty hunters, who all had their weapons pointed at me.

"I had nothing to do with this! Before this job I thought Cassus was dead!" I yelled. Gorman, still alive, had his blaster pointed at me too.

"Why did Rajja let you in then?!" He shouted. Clearly, the group still thought it was odd a newcomer was given special preference for such a big job. I didn't like revealing my sources, but it was the only way to get out of this alive now.

"The Hutt is friends with an information dealer, Zu'mar the Assembler. The Arachnid did me a favor."

Gorman's expression changed, and after a few moments he eased up on the blaster. The other hunters looked at him, but kept their weapons trained. Palscho looked from Gorman, then back at me. His double barreled rifle was pointed at my helmet.

"Gorman, what?!" Palscho shouted. Gorman sighed and put his weapon down.

"It's true. Rajja buys and sells information to Zu'mar. It's how he knew to hire all of you. It's why he allowed Fett to come with us at the last minute. He thought a Mandalorian on the team, going after Cassus, would help."

After a few tense moments, the other hunters begrudgingly lowered their weapons. Gorman continued. "I've seen Fett in action. If he was really working for Cassus, he wouldn't have killed his men the way he did. He helped us clear the quarry. He's for real, guys."

A light rain began falling from the night sky. Terran recovered and stood up, walking past me. He gave me a sour look and shook his head. "I don't like it!"

"Suck it up Haas. The Hutt's men are dead, our only lead is destroyed, and Cassus never showed his face. We need to regroup and come up with a new plan." Irkchik said.

"Let's just get back to the LZ. Rajja won't be happy to hear about this." Gorman said. They all turned to leave, and I with them. On the way out though, I stopped and turned back around. Something was off. I looked at the quarry, the blast site, and the Gank corpses strewn about everywhere. I looked up to the cliff face looming over everything. That explosion was perfectly timed. Could either have been a proxy charge, or remotely detonated. Which meant…

 _We're being watched_

/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Cassus had changed position since exploding the weapons crate. A few pieces of shrapnel had flown up, and landed beside him. Down below, he observed the group of hunters argue with the lone Mandalorian. Eventually they eased up and began to leave.

Cassus was trying to remember who the Mandalorian was. There had been so many brothers and sisters, so many dead before and after Malachor, now only a few hundred were left in the galaxy. Bloody shame. But who was this character?

He watched his stance, his gait, as he walked. He watched as the lone Mandalorian stopped and looked back. When Cassus realized who he was, he was just as shocked as his cousin was on the ground.

 _So a member of the Fett clan is hunting me. Curious, most curious._

It was time to leave.


	7. Need to Know

We reached the forest clearing where our ships sat and waited. We went inside the bounty hunter's freighter, and gathered around the main hold. There was a center table, large and round. I sat on a couch to the side, while the other bounty hunters sat at the table. Gorman stood leaning against the bulkhead, looking anxious.

"I need to tell Rajja about what's happened. He-"

"Doesn't need to know what happened." Irkchik finished Gorman's sentence. "Until we have Cassus bound and secured, we don't tell the Hutt anything."

Suuvarsh remarked something, and Terran eyed him with a nod. "Are all Ubese this agreeable?" Terran asked. Suuvarsh turned to him and said nothing.

Gorman relented, and the lot of them began arguing. As I sat watching, I thought about the situation and what I knew. Specifically, what they _didn't_ know. Cassus was definitely here. His command style and strategies had changed some since the war – he didn't have legions of troops anymore – but it was him, orchestrating everything. His men were well trained, and were clearly ideologically aligned with him. They believed they were Neo-Crusaders, forging a new war machine for Cassus. A small band like that needed strong leadership constantly. Cassus was present during that whole debacle. Who else would have triggered that explosion?

I stood up and walked to the table. "You're accomplishing nothing here."

They all turned to look at me, irritated. Munshaan the Stereb said "And you have a better idea, Fett?!"

"I do."

"Don't waste our time, Mando. We have no leads. Cassus was nowhere during that whole shit show. What do you got that's so special?!" Terran shouted.

I circled around the group and put forth an idea. "Cassus' operation here was small time. He had a platoon's worth of men and no reinforcements. Those men were soldiers and mercenaries, not miners."

Irkchik said, "Yah, so?"

"Meaning he hired miners, either locally or offworld." I replied, continuing to circle. "It's not a stretch to think he has other mining operations in the system, maybe even the whole sector."

"It would take months to go through every system in the Kibilini sector." Palscho replied.

"Then narrow it down. What nearby system has an abundance of bored, unemployed miners and mercenaries?" I said back. The idea was catching on.

Suuvarsh the Ubese muttered something, and Palscho looked at him. "That's a good idea. We should search the local holonet for job listings."

Terran rolled his eyes and sighed. "Or we find one of the miners here and question him." He replied, tapping the side of his head with his finger.

I stopped circling and looked down at the group. "There's our answer."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Omman Minor was a lost cause. Cassus realized it was an ambitious project, perhaps too far reaching. Hiring miners, converting mercenaries to the Mandalorian way…still, Cassus resolved every failure was a learning opportunity. He had gotten too comfortable, stretched his resources thin. How had those bounty hunters found him to begin with? He thought the seals on his operation was air tight. Clearly somewhere there was a leak. It was time to play recluse again.

Cassus gathered what he needed from his nut, not that there was much. Most of the belongings in his forest home were property of Donnigan Reldarry, now out of work mining contractor. Still, it wouldn't hurt to cover his tracks. Just like the old days, just like Dxun.

Opening his bed's footlocker, Cassus retrieved a decently sized thorium charge. While most thorium charges could be remotely detonated, they could also be set to go off like a proxy mine. Tinkering with the fuse settings, Cassus carefully set the thorium charge back into the footlocker, closed the top, and backed away. It had a two minute timer before the proximity settings would kick in. Cassus did one last check, then quickly left. He needed to leave the planet, regroup, reconsolidate, and continue working on his plans from his base of operations.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Suuvarsh, Gorman, and Palscho had opted to stay behind and check the holonet, using the Hutt's ship the Ganks and Gorman flew in on. The rest of us went aboard the bounty hunter's freighter, and took off into the night sky. Omman Minor didn't sport a large population, so finding the miner's encampment wasn't difficult. Using the freighter's scanner, we picked up on several readings not far from the quarry. While Terran was piloting, Irkchik and Munshaan looked out the viewport as we passed over the camp.

"I think we spooked them flying in." Munshaan said.

"I think the explosion in the quarry did it." I replied. Irkchik growled something lizard like and turned to go to the main hold.

"We just need one. No killing!" The Saurin yelled back. Munshaan and I followed him back as Terran lowered the freighter onto the camp's landing pad. As we equipped our gear in the main hold, the loading ramp lowered onto the pad. Weak lights barely illuminated the landing pad.

"Let's go bag ourselves a miner!" Terran exclaimed as he walked into the main hold. Irkchik turned and pointed at him.

"These people aren't the bounty! We need information, not blood!" Irkchik said back. I was beginning to respect the Saurin.

"Yah yah yah, I was just kidding. Let's go." Terran replied.


	8. A spiteful bunch

As we exited the ship into the encampment, we saw a small number of miners had left their homes to see what was going on. Peering through the windows of their homes were their families. They were scared, apprehensive, but not hostile. If not for the explosion, they were probably mad we had landed at such an ungodly hour. My helmet's chrono read _2319_.

There was no dock officer for once, but a man did approach us as we entered the middle of the camp. He wasn't armed, but I wouldn't have been surprised if he had a blaster in his tunic. He was Human, as were most of the miners, some of whom were Near-Human while the rest were a small minority of aliens. He greeted us.

"I'm Chigg Yagner, can we help you boys with somethin?" The guy asked. Irkchik took charge.

"We're not here to hurt you sir. We're looking for information." Irkchik replied.

Chigg grinned. "Hell of a time to be looking for that." He said back, looking at his wrist-chrono.

Irkchik shook his head. "This won't take long. We're here about the mine. You work there right?"

The man tensed up and crossed his arms over his chest. "Yah, what's this about? Did that explosion earlier come from there? That mine is our livelihood, gentlemen."

"We're looking for the mine owner. Cassus Fett." Irkchik said. I scanned about the village. More miners had come out of their homes. Either they were curious, or they were about to lose their minds because their work got blown sky high.

Mr. Yagner chortled and shook his head. "I think you're mistaken. We work for Mr. Donnigan Reldarry. I'm the mine foreman, I report directly to him."

Irkchik wasn't about to get into a battle of semantics with a tired old miner. "Right. We need to know where he's at. Where did he hire you from? Anything you can tell us would be helpful."

Mr. Yagner said nothing, and began eying the rest of us. He sized us up, taking note of our weapons. "Listen, I don't want any trouble gentlemen. Mr. Reldarry pays us well, I don't pry into-"

"We just need to know where he hired you from." Irkchik repeated.

"How about I ask some questions. What sort of trouble is Mr. Reldarry in? Why are you all here?"

I was beginning to lose my patience. I stepped forward. "His name is Cassus. He's a Mandalorian. He slaughtered millions during the war and now some people want him brought in."

Mr. Yagner blinked as he stared at the T-visor, then at the others. He sighed and shook his head. "He hired all of us out of Socorro."

Munshaan spoke up. "Don't lie to us! Socorro is barren, no one lives there!"

The mining foreman looked at our Stereb counterpart. "You wanted information and I'm telling you what I know."

"Keep talking." I said.

"We know he's a veteran, we thought he was Republic. Keeps to himself. Hired us to dig out that mine, didn't know what he was looking for. Flew us all off Socorro himself. He's got a small house by the mine."

"Anything else?" I asked.

"No, no…if you catch him, don't tell him I-"

"There won't be any conversation. I suggest you find a different mine to work at." I replied, and started for the freighter. The others followed behind me, leaving the miners and their camp behind.

/\/\/\/\/\/

We flew back to the LZ. Exiting the freighter, we walked over to the Hutt's ship. Inside, Suuvarsh and Gorman were still scanning the holonet. Gorman came out of the cockpit to talk to us, while the Ubese continued checking.

"Hope you all had better luck then we did." Gorman said as he got into the main hold. Terran plopped into a chair, I walked over to lean against a wall while Irkchik and Munshaan talked to him.

"He hired the miners out of Socorro. He's also got a place near the quarry." Irkchik said.

"Let's check it out." Gorman replied.

"Not worth it." I said.

Munshaan snapped his head around to look at me. "Why?!"

 _He's pissed_ I mused. "Unless you want to die like the Ganks did, I suggest we avoid it."

"Is that common Mandalorian S.O.P.? Just set charges to everything and blow up the next guy to find it?" Munshaan asked.

 _Well, he's not wrong_

"Usually." I replied casually.

"Y'all are a spiteful bunch, aren't you? Guess I'd be too if my people got slaughtered, but hey what do I know?" Terran shot back, giving me a glare. I ignored him and carried on.

"They were hired on Socorro, it doesn't mean Cassus is there." Irkchik opined. He had a point. We were dead in the water. He was a man with backup plans for backup plans. Hidden cells across the galaxy that he could escape to. A ghost, he could disguise himself as anyone and slip through any blockade or security checkpoint with ease. He-

There was a shout from the cockpit. Suuvarsh either just took a slug directly to the heart, or won the Galactic Lottery. We rushed into the cockpit to see what was up. Sure enough, the Ubese was excited, pointing and yelling at the holonet screen in the cockpit. Palscho stood over him and looked at us.

"What's up?" I asked.

"Saying that he's on Socorro." Palscho replied, struggling to translate everything his Ubese counterpart was yelling about.

"That's it? The miners came from Socorro, that's all we know!" Terran exclaimed back. Palscho translated more.

"There are desert tribes on Socorro, and they've banded together recently. Locals don't know how or why…but Suuvarsh is sure Cassus is behind it."

Socorro, as far as I knew, was a desolate world, like Tatooine. Maybe some civilization, but why would Cassus be there? He needed to hire miners and mercenaries, that's all it was good for to him. There was no reason to stay there…Unless that was the real trick. No one would think a prominent Mandalorian commander would hide out on a pit of a world like Socorro, but no one thought like a Mandalorian either. Rough terrain, hazardous environments, multiple factors that would keep out unsuspecting Republic types, who preferred boring offices and cush tapcaf houses. Maybe the Ubese had a point.

While Munshaan, Palscho, and Terran were arguing over it, and Suuvarsh was exclaiming repeatedly _He's on Socorro!_ , Irkchik noticed my silence. "Quiet, all of you! Fett, what do you think?"

I thought for a moment before responding. "It makes sense. Base your operations in the desert where no one would venture to."

Terran groaned. "Oh for crying out loud, are we going to listen to this?! He probably just wants to lure us out there so him and his cousin can kill us together!"

Irkchik took charge of the situation. "Enough! It's our only lead, and it's better than staying here and arguing. We're going to Socorro."

Terran and Munshaan looked at each other, then walked out. As they left I heard Munshaan mutter _who died and put the Saurin in charge?_ Though this was the Hutt's ship, Gorman allowed Suuvarsh to pilot, as he slipped into the copilot's seat. Suuvarsh, still in the pilot's seat, began preflight checks.

Irkchik turned to me, with Palscho at his side. "I hope your instincts are right on this one Fett. I hate to waste time."

I said nothing. I turned, left, and headed to my Basilisk.


	9. Black Sands

**Outer Rim – Socorro**

We blasted out of hyperspace over the desert planet. The Omman Minor and Socorro systems were both in the Kibilini sector. No doubt that if Cassus had other operations, they were spread throughout the sector. Munshaan was half right – Socorro was certainly a barren wasteland, but there were some settlements. A spaceport, at least.

As we descended planet side, my thoughts ran alongside my subconscious. Sometimes, it just wouldn't shut up.

 _You're hunting another Mandalorian_

 _What will you do when you find him?_

 _Will you kill him?_

 _Will he kill you?_

 _Why are you doing this?_

 _Credits are for aruetiise_

I shook my head. I was doing this because it was my job. I decided on becoming a bounty hunter to turn the tables on those that had hunted me. This wasn't personal. It was just business. The Mandalorians hadn't conquered the galaxy. Instead, the Republic "won" and now I had to live in _their_ galaxy. I had to make a living somehow. I made a decision and I was sticking with it, right or wrong.

 _Keep telling yourself that, chief_

Irritated I hit the comm. to speak to the others. "I'm picking up a single settlement in the region. Soco-Jarel spaceport."

" _I read the same_." Gorman replied over the channel.

" _Let's land in the outskirts. Sending LZ coordinates now_." Irkchik said. There was a 'beep' as the coordinates were received to my Basilisk's computer. I followed the coordinates and landed alongside the other two ships.

Gearing up, I headed outside and surveyed our immediate surroundings. The hot, humid air hit me like a brick. The afternoon sun hung high in the sky, adding more heat. The terrain was dry and barren, an arid, merciless desert. No bright sands like Tatooine or Er'kit, no…this sand was black. Volcanic black. The only people looking to live here were outlaws on the run, or those looking to hide. Smugglers, pirates, and my kin, Cassus Fett. As I observed our surroundings, the others came out of their ships and were greatly unprepared for the heat.

"Wonderful idea Irkchik, yes, let's land in the outskirts! If the locals don't kill us, the planet will!" Terran exclaimed to his Saurin comrade. Suuvarsh muttered something in Ubese, and Terran looked at him incredulously. "Yes, I'm aware one of your colony worlds was nuked!"

"Calm down Terran. It was a good idea. We don't know who lives in the spaceport. Probably a hive of scum and villainy." Palscho replied.

The Ithorian's comment made me think. If Cassus had hired those mercenaries and miners out of Socorro, then it was feasible he had hired others. This planet was rife with criminals, smugglers, pirates…it wasn't a stretch to think he had backup units here.

"We need a plan. What are we doing, Mando?!" Munshaan asked. His and Terran's dislike of me was obvious. I could console myself, knowing this was my first and only job with them…or they'd die here.

"Cassus hired those mercenaries from here. We can find more." I replied.

"You think he has more mercenaries working for him?" Palscho asked. I nodded.

"So we're walking into a giant powder keg. That we're going to set off. Great." Terran retorted.

"Enough Terran! We have to find Cassus somehow. We'll ask around the cantinas and bazaars. We don't need all three ships. Everyone get in and we'll fly over."

That settled it. The whole group of us – Gorman, Munshaan, Terran, Suuvarsh, Palscho, Irkchik, and myself – headed up into the bounty hunter's freighter, and we flew off for Soco-Jarel spaceport."

/\/\/\/\/\/

We landed inside one of the open docking bays, and then headed out. A dock officer approached the group of us. While Gorman dealt with the D.O., I observed the docking bay. The shadow of the structure hung over us, providing some relief from the sun. Some peddlers were milling about…they looked harmless, but then, this was Socorro. Any one of them could have been a dirty thief. Once Gorman finished paying the D.O., I turned to him.

"You and Suuvarsh stay with the ship." I said. Irkchik, who was nominal leader, seemed to go along with the idea. He nodded to me in approval.

"Good idea. Don't know what sort of street rats hang around here." Irkchik said as we exited the docking bay.

We turned a corner, and found ourselves walking down a busy, narrow city street. Sun tanned plaster houses lined the dusty road, as locals went about their business. My helmet sensors were running crazy picking up the numbers of people in our vicinity. We turned another corner and headed into the bazaar. Consumers crowded about market stalls, merchants shouted out their wares. Soco-Jarel was quite the bustling spaceport, it looked like. On the other side of the bazaar was a cantina. We pushed through the crowds and headed over.


	10. Not good for business

A Shi'ido, wearing drab gray robes, eyed the group of bounty hunters as they left the docking bay. So, that was them. The sly group that had prematurely ended his employer's business on Omman Minor. It was not all of them though. He spotted a Saurin, an Ithorian, a Human, a Stereb, and a Mandalorian. There were a few others, as his employer reported. Keeping his distance, he followed behind them, taking a peek inside the docking bay they had come out of. Their freighter was there. He spotted the other two, the Chev and Ubese, walking up the loading ramp into the ship. No matter.

He turned back, away from the bazaar, and headed to his comrades' hideout. One of the many plain looking houses dotting the spaceport. He knocked on the door once, then three quick taps, then two. The door opened and he walked inside.

Looking at his fellows, all armed and ready to get to work, he grinned. "You'll never guess who showed up in town, boys."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/

We headed into the cantina. Many of the denizens there – smugglers and pirates – kept their cool, but eyed us suspiciously as we entered. The other four split up into two man teams to question the cantina patrons. Terran and Munshaan grouped up, while Palscho and Irkchik went together as another team. I went alone to the bar to chat up the bartender.

The cantina patrons were varied. Humans, Near-Humans, and a large diverse crowd of aliens were enjoying drinks and good conversation. A Bith Band played, while a trio of female Twi'lek dancers with the musicians performed on a small stage opposite the bar. As the other hunters milled about questioning the locals, I approached the bar. The bartender, a blue skinned male Twi'lek, wasn't happy to see me, either because I was a bounty hunter and therefore "wasn't good for business," or I was Mandalorian. Either way.

"What'll it be, Mando."

"Corellian ale on draught. And information."

The bartender pulled a mug out from under the counter and began filling it from the tap. He set it down in front of me and I set a 50 cred chip down for him.

"What do you want to know?"

"Looking for someone. Lot of big name players come through Socorro?" I asked.

"None. You see everyone in here? That's my usual crowd."

"How about someone hiring a mercenary outfit?"

The bartender blinked, was quiet for a moment before glancing around then back at me. "Yah, yah there was someone like that. Don't know where he is now though."

"You sure?"

"Listen, Mando, I know who you're talking about, maybe you got a personal grudge against the guy, but I don't work for him."

"Then who does?" I asked, leaning in.

"A rough crowd. You don't go looking for them. If you're here for him, they'll find you."

"Is that so?"

"Can't say anymore. Just watch your back. And tell your buddies to stop bothering my customers. They're wasting their time, none of these scoundrels here work for him."

I stared at the bartender, then noticed the gorgeous brunette who had showed up standing at the bar next to me. Either she was working for Cassus, or she was a prostitute. No reason a beautiful woman like her should be on this pit of a world, unless she had good reason to. I slid the mug of Corellian ale over to her.

"Drink's on me, doll." I said, before turning to leave. I caught her grin as I left the bar and regrouped with the other four near the entrance.

"Anything?" Irkchik asked the group. Terran and Munshaan shook their heads.

"We should go." I replied.

"What'd you find out?" Palscho asked.

"Tell you on the way. Let's go."

We left the cantina empty handed, and started back through the bazaar. I didn't like the idea of an enemy being out of reach, inaccessible, unless they came looking for _me_. It just meant one could be taken by surprise, and-

"So, this is the lot of bounty hunter scum looking for a fight?"

We had walked right into our targets, in the middle of the bazaar. Merchants and consumers scattered away, knowing what was about to happen. About 15 mercenaries, Human and Near-Human, including a male Mirialan and a tall Shi'ido in grey robes, confronted us. The male Mirialan was the one who began the 'ever-so-witty' dialogue with us.

"We don't want you. We want your boss, mercenary!" Irkchik shouted back. Good, some petty dick-measuring dialogue bought me some time to lock on to as many targets as possible with my helmet's battle system.

"If you surrender now, we'll let you live. You've caused enough trouble for our employer, but he's willing to give you one chance to leave." The Mirilian continued.

"Keep em' talking." I said, hushed, to Irkchik. He acknowledged, his fists at his side, with a simple 'thumbs up.'


	11. Knife Hand

"What is he paying you, merc? Our employer can pay you much more if you help bring him in!"

"He pays us enough! We, his kin, fellow Mandalorians in arms, shall begin the next great crusade!"

 _I've heard enough out of this aruetiise fool_

I dropped a smoke grenade in front of us, allowing my fellows to scatter to cover behind merchant stalls. My weapon systems, on voice command, then began firing at respective targets through the dense, gray smoke. My knee pad rocket dart launchers unloaded with LTL stun darts, immediately KOing two of the mercs. My wrist rocket launcher also fired off a stun rocket, KOing a third hostile. My suit's weapon systems expended for the moment, I lunged to cover behind a merchant's stall. That was three targets we could question after the fight.

"Watch your fire, we don't want civilian casualties!" Irkchik yelled out to us as he hid behind cover.

"If they're stupid enough to stay then it's not our fault!" Terran shouted back. He and Munshaan began moving around on the right to flank the mercenaries. They 'crouch ran' under the tops of merchant stalls, as blaster fire ripped overhead.

The smoke still covered us, but it also meant Palscho and Irkchik had no way of spotting targets. It was on me to give covering fire for the other two as they flanked. Peering out the side of a stall, I used my helmet's tracker to pinpoint targets through the smoke. The mercenaries didn't care about collateral damage; they were standing and indiscriminately firing into the smoke cloud, not caring if they killed us or civilians. Switching my rifle's selector switch to 'burst,' I aimed and fired, picking off two mercs in quick succession. That startled the rest of them enough to get into cover before I could take down a third. I flicked the selector switch to 'semi' to save ammunition, and laid down suppressive fire across their whole front to pin them down.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

"What the hell was that?!" Gorman exclaimed. Sitting in the main hold of the freighter, Gorman could hear the sound of blaster fire from off in the distance. It was well outside the docking bay, for sure.

Suuvarsh picked up his long rifle, yelled something in Ubese, and pointed out the loading ramp. Gorman stood up to argue. "We have to protect the ship! We don't know what's happening out there!"

The Ubese replied with something snappy, which Gorman's Chev ears could barely understand. Before he could reply, Suuvarsh was already heading down the loading ramp. Gorman grabbed his weapon and swore. "Blast, here we go again!"

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

As the smoke began to clear, Palscho and Irkchik finally brought their weight in to the fight. Palscho's double barreled rifle, and the Saurin's slug pistol added to my blaster rifle to help suppress the mercs. Even so, they managed to get off a few pot shots, and escalated return fire forced us back into cover. We had lost fire superiority, for the moment.

My helmet's tracker alerted me to Terran and Munshaan, who had rounded about on the right flank and began opening fire on the mercs from their angle. I primed a flash grenade and tossed it for the left flank, so the other two hunters wouldn't be affected by the blast. Blaster fire continued erupting over our heads as we waited for it to go off.

"Grenade!" I heard one of the mercs yell. My helmet's tracker alerted me to a few of them scattering. Palscho, Irkchik and myself blind fired in their direction, hoping to catch at least one of them as they ran.

Once the flash grenade went off, I directed the Ithorian and Saurin, with a knife hand, to flank left. I popped up out of cover and gave covering fire, but I didn't have a shot. Most of the mercs were staggering on the ground. Still, their blaster fire had ceased. On the far end of the bazaar, behind the mercs, I saw Gorman and Suuvarsh had shown up, and picked off a few mercs who were trying to flee. On the right flank, Terran and Munshaan were executing struggling mercs with double-taps. I left my cover to regroup with the others, and found the three mercs I had KOed with stun agents. On the left flank, Irkchik and Palscho were stun cuffing live mercs.

Assessing my other hunters, I saw none of them were wounded, fortunately. We didn't have time to slow down. While Gorman and Suuvarsh were checking the surrounding area, Terran and Munshaan finished their last victim. _Whatever._ I looked at the array of bodies, and found one live one still left. The Shi'ido, wearing a gray robe. He was wounded, bleeding out. One of Irkchik's slugs had ripped right through his right arm, nearly severing it from his body. His brachial artery was gushing blood, fast. He didn't have much time left. For that matter, neither did we if we didn't get what we needed to know. There wasn't much medically I could do to prolong his life to question him. I crouched next to him, and began ripping away sections of his gray robe, exposing his bloodied arm.

"What…what are you..." He asked, in a daze.

He was fading fast. With the wad of robe I ripped from his arm, I applied a tourniquet four inches above the wound to cut off circulation. I twisted it tight to stop the artery from gushing, but it wouldn't save his life. He would die. No matter. Munshaan noticed this and questioned me.

"He's one of them, Fett! Just kill him!" The Stereb snapped. I turned quickly to look at him.

"He has information we need!" I shouted back. Munshaan and Terran were trying my patience. Their attitude was going to get them killed, either by Cassus and his minions, or by me. We'd just have to see. I looked back down at the Shi'ido.

"You…you saved my-"

"You have information I require. Tell me what I need to know, or I can let you die. Your choice, mercenary." I replied, setting a hand on his arm. He tensed up.

He hesitated for a moment. "I…could tell you nothing."


	12. Good Cop, Bad Cop

I pointed away at his three comrades I had taken down with stun agents. "I could let you die and talk to them instead." I said, gripping his arm now. He groaned in pain.

"Cassus…Mandalore would…"

"Cassus isn't the Mandalore. He's a man on the run with a bounty on his head. Nothing more." I shot back.

My subconscious decided to speak up. _He's a man trying to revive the Mandalorians from scratch. You're his kin hunting him down for credits. What's your excuse?_

"You…why would-"

"Where is he? Where's Cassus? Is he worth dying for?" I asked. Irkchik and Palscho had finished cuffing their last merc. While the Ithorian watched over the prisoners, Irkchik came over to join me. I shared a quick glance with him before looking back down.

"He.." The Shi'ido started to talk, before coughing up blood. For a moment I thought he was gone, then he continued. "Saved us…gave us a purpose."

 _Sounds like any of the denizens that were recruited into Mandalore's army as he was preparing to invade the Republic. Just a poor soul looking for meaning in this galaxy._

"You're not a Mandalorian and you never will be! You're a tool! He doesn't care about you, don't you see that?!" I shouted at him. I was losing my cool. Irkchik circled around and looked down at me with a nod. I shook my head and walked off. _Good cop bad cop._

Irkchik knelt down and did his bit. "Don't mind him. It's been a long day." The Saurin said, trying to reassure him. The Shi'ido looked up at him, worried. He didn't say anything. Irkchik continued.

"You were bleeding badly but I think we can save you. My associate might be upset, but he doesn't want you to die. Any professional medics around the spaceport?"

As the Saurin was coddling our prisoner, the other mercs and I noticed the denizens slowly coming out of hiding to investigate. The diverse mix of alien and human smugglers, along with various service droids, came to take a look at the scene. Gorman, Suuvarsh, and the other two had created a perimeter, weapons visible. I put my rifle away and equipped my pistol, to keep watch over the other live prisoners. I overheard the rest of the conversation.

"I can help you out bud, but we need a little bit in return, do you-"

"Please…let's leave." The Shi'ido said. Irkchik and I shared a glance. I nodded. Irkchik helped him up, cradled the guy's other arm around his neck, and helped him walk. Terran and Munshaan took point, moving ahead to the docking bay. Gorman, Palscho and Suuvarsh held the rear, while I stuck with Irkchik and our prisoner in the middle. The crowd avoided us, and looked at us in disbelief and surprise at the scene we had created. The remaining live prisoners held fast on the ground as we left the scene.

"Let's hurry it up fellas." I said to Terran and Munshaan. Terran gave me an irritated glance but began moving faster anyway. The spaceport had gotten too hot to stay in any longer. No telling if more of Cassus' friends were enroute. We rounded a corner into the docking bay and made for the ship. Gorman and Suuvarsh turned and began walking backwards to cover our rear as we went up the loading ramp.

Terran and Munshaan made for the cockpit, while Irkchik set our prisoner down in the common room. Once Gorman closed up the loading ramp, Terran and Munshaan took the ship up out of the docking bay, and flew off back to our LZ in the desert. Enroute, Irkchik continued questioning our prisoner.

"Alright bud we're safe now. What can you tell us about Cassus?" Irkchik asked. As our Shi'ido prisoner scrambled for words, the rest of the team settled in. Gorman and Suuvarsh sat down opposite the Saurin and the prisoner. They were tired, but alert. Palscho came out of the refresher with a cup of water and handed it to the prisoner before sitting down. I leaned against the bulkhead, arms akimbo, staring down our fool of a prisoner.

"The…the tribes." He began mumbling. I rolled my eyes behind the visor. Suuvarsh had found something about the tribes on the holonet when we were on Omman Minor, but it was nothing much to go on.

"Drop him out the loading ramp. He's useless." I said. Irkchik and Palscho glanced at me, then back down to the guy. Guess they didn't appreciate my 'bad cop' anymore.

"Don't mind him. He's had a long day. What about these tribes, hmm?" Irkchik asked.

"The, the Asilyr work for Cassus!"

"Who are the Asilyr? Are they a tribe?" Irkchik asked.

"Yes, yes!"

I looked over at Gorman and Suuvarsh. Suuvarsh's features, of course, were hidden behind his envirosuit's helmet. Gorman however returned an apprehensive glance. I furrowed my brow behind the visor, wary of our prisoner's words. Was he feeding us disinformation to throw us off Cassus' trail?

Irkchik persisted. "I hope you're telling the truth bud. We've come a long way."

The Shi'ido drew in a long breath, then let it out. "This wasn't how I-" He let out a pained sigh, hissing in pain from his wound. With his good arm, he took a sip of water. "I don't get paid enough…"

I moved off the bulkhead and stepped forward. "Don't waste our time further. We need to find Cassus. Help us, and you'll be rewarded."

The others inside the main hold all turned to look at me in shock. Who was I to dictate terms? I was the "new guy." Gorman, as the Hutt's representative, spoke up. "Our employer can compensate you if you assist us." Gorman said, trying to ease the tension. Even if it was a lie, it worked.

"I won't last…long. Find a caravan. The Ibhaan'l know this world. They can find the Asilyr. They…"

Our Shi'ido prisoner drew his last breath, as his head sunk backwards and his body went limp. Irkchik simply stared at the dead body, now laying on the seat next to him. Palscho turned and looked at the table. Suuvarsh said nothing of course, while Gorman simply sighed. I shook my head and headed off into the cockpit to see what the holdup was. Looking inside, Terran and Munshaan were still flying us back to the LZ. They looked up at me as I entered.

"Step on it will ya, we got a dead body back here!"


	13. Bedouins

Gorman and Suuvarsh carried the corpse off the ship once we reached the LZ. Better to get rid of it fast than let it stink up the ship. The rest of us followed them out to let the ship air out for a bit. Once outside on the black sand desert, the planning began.

Gorman and the Ubese came back after tossing the body behind a large boulder. Suuvarsh began with something I couldn't understand. It elicited a response from Terran, who exclaimed "You want us to go native, are you kidding me?!"

Palscho piped up. "What else are we supposed to do Terran? Our only lead is the Ibhaan'l tribe."

"Well we can't go back to the spaceport either." Irkchik said.

Munshaan shook his head. "Even if this supposed tribe can help, how do we find them?"

On a world like this, any native tribe would be nomadic. Resources were scarce, it only made sense to keep moving. I looked off in the direction where Gorman and Suuvarsh had tossed the body. Off in the distance, I could make out…something. People? Animals? Gorman noticed my lack of interest in the conversation and spoke.

"Fett, you see something?"

I said nothing. I turned back around to face my fellows. "We don't have much choice. I say we-"

Terran lost his cool and came at me. "Who put YOU in charge, Fett?!"

Once the fool came within striking distance, I grabbed his collar and headbutted him, smashing my helmet into his skull. Still holding onto him, I launched my right knee into his gut, then tossed him aside. "I don't see you coming up with any ideas, _di'kut._ "

Irkchik held back a laugh, as Terran's buddy Munshaan knelt next to him to help him up. Terran sneered angrily at me. "This isn't over Fett!"

I rolled my eyes behind the visor and looked to everybody else. "Ideas are welcome." I said to the group. Despite what _aruetiise_ thought of Mandalorians, we were surprisingly democratic in some respects. At least when it came to military planning. Our best commanders in the past had always opened up the floor to others, to listen to other ideas and come up with sound battle plans. The final decision of course rested with commanders, but the point was, everyone's opinion was welcome. During that short reminisce, I suddenly felt those old feelings again for a moment…loss, despair. I sucked it up and carried on.

"Probably our only option at this point is finding this tribe. What did you see Fett?" Irkchik asked.

I looked back, used my visor to zoom in. Did I spot pack animals and riders? "A caravan. Let's talk to them."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Eventually, the group I had spotted off in the distance came within shooting range. We kept our weapons holstered though. We weren't looking for a fight. As they came closer, their pace slowed done. Eventually they came to a halt. It was a curious sight, coming face to face with the tribesmen. They rode large, four legged creatures called Druyza – I had seen cousins of the creatures on other desert worlds in years past. While some of the caravan rode the creatures, others loaded the animals up with cargo and led them along with a leash. The tribesmen themselves looked like the infamous Sand People of Tatooine. These men, however, weren't roving barbarians. They wore thin white cloth as robes, and the trim of the cloth was adorned with colorful patterns of gold, blue, green, purple, and orange.

It was safe to say, being traders, they had acquired colored dye and threads from smugglers who were passing through Socorro on their way to their next stop. Their headwraps, meant to shield their face from the blistering sun, were also plain white. A headdress, circling around their forehead to keep the headwrap from falling away, was worn by many of them as well. The headresses came in green, with black, white, and orange threads penetrating throughout to give the piece a more colorful look. Their belts, meanwhile, were made of animal hide, probably skinned from local wildlife.

Lastly, they were all armed with blasters of various types. Long rifles, pistols, or sub-machine guns. They were no fool to the dangers of this world, and had taken necessary precautions. Not surprisingly, some of them had their hands on their holstered weapons as they spotted us. Palscho walked towards them, with his hands up in a "don't shoot" fashion. The rest of us held back, also favoring our weapons in case this got ugly.

"We aren't here to rob you. We need your help." Palscho began. The caravaneers looked at each other, and spoke in their native tongue. They were either conversing about what to do, or they didn't understand Galactic Basic. How would they have been trading with off-worlders if they didn't know Basic though?

Our answer hopped off one of the Druyza and approached Palscho. He removed his headwrap, revealing himself as a human. Tan skinned, and oddly pointy ears. Correction, Near-Human of some sort. He spoke. "I can speak for these natives." He began. A small animal, which looked like a mini-krayt dragon, flew off the man's mount and landed on his shoulder. "Ah, and this is Ceylor. Say hi, Ceylor."

The little mini-krayt growled out an oddly charming 'caw.' Palscho, perplexed for a moment, shook his head and continued. "We need your help looking for someone. An associate told us the Ibhaan'l tribe could help us locate him."

The man nodded. "Well, we are the Ibhaan'l, but we're not trackers."

Palscho asked, "They're Ibhaan'l, but what are you?"

To this, the man laughed a little. He turned to the tribesmen, and said something in their native language. They had begun laughing at whatever he said. Clearly we were making asses out of ourselves. For the moment, I let Palscho keep doing the talking.

"I'm glad we could be of amusement."

"Ha, don't worry about it. All off-worlders say the same thing to me. Who do you seek, Ithorian?" The man replied. His mini-krayt, still perched on his shoulder, looked stern and unwavering, like a little guardian.

Palscho pointed back at us. "My associates and I are looking for a Mandalorian warrior, Cassus Fett."

To this, the man raised his brows, impressed…Or he knew where Cassus was and was apprehensive. He glanced at me, then back to Palscho. "Something personal, I take it?"

"No. Business." Palscho said back

During this whole exchange, I had kept my eye on the caravan, in case they tried to pull something fishy. They, too, were keeping their eyes on us. Neither side trusted the other…but then, neither side wanted a fight either. Palscho's new friend turned to say something to his people in their native tongue, and after some words, I could see the natives were okay with us.

"We will help you. We will take you to our village in the north, where the Ibhaan'l elders can point you in the direction of this 'Fett.'"

"So you know where he is?"

"Me? No. But the Ibhaan'l know this planet, and they know of the tribe he lives with. Come, we will show you. By the way, name is Trien Ni'Kaas." He replied. Trien put his headwrap back on, while his mini-krayt flew off to land back on his mount. He waved us over to the rest of the caravan. The Ibhaan'l tribesmen, strangely kind, offered us Druyza mounts to ride.

One of the tribes offered me a mount, but I shook my head. I'd walk. I wasn't completely happy with this arrangement. I didn't want to speak to their geriatric leaders, I just wanted to find Cassus and get this over with. But for the sake of the mission, I went along with it. Can't always get what you want.


	14. The Hapan

We rode for hours, under the baking heat of the sun. I understood perfectly why the Ibhaan'l traders wore the white wraps they had. Fortunately, the sun eventually went down below the horizon, leaving behind an orange hue with a purple highlight. Finally, as the sky turned dark, we came within reach of the Ibhaan'l camp. I had known we reached their tribal lands when I began seeing armed desert patrols. At the main camp, fires were lit, and hide tents were set and pitched in a large circular fashion. We stopped at the outskirts of the camp and dismounted. Trien, with his mini-krayt on his shoulder, approached us as the tribesmen walked their pack animals to a nearby watering hole.

"Will we see the elders now?" Irkchik asked.

"We will eat, then my friends, you may speak with the elders." He replied. I held back irritation, knowing this wasn't the time for impatience. Terran though groaned, while Munshaan sighed. Idiots would get us kicked out if they didn't mind themselves.

We followed Trien to one of the camp fires, where the native Ibhaan'l already had a pot of stew heated up. The natives looked at us, talked amongst themselves as they ate. Apparently we were the 'talk of the town.' Now that it was evening, the Ibhaan'l removed their headwraps, revealing normal looking Humans. They had slightly darker skin, with black hair. Many of them had beards. The women had piercing blue and green eyes, and kept their hair braided in the back. Golden wire coiled around their braids, keeping them neat and even as they reached their backs. Curious people.

Trien gave us metal bowls, and poured each of us a decent ration of the stew. One of the camp tribesmen poured each of us water into canteen cups, knowing we were tired and dehydrated from the trip. We sat down around the fire and began to eat. I removed my helmet to eat. The Ibhaan'l, and even my fellow hunters, gave me a glance, having not seen my face before this. They studied my features for a moment, seeing 'me' for the first time, then went back to their stew. _Whatever_. I knocked back some water and began into the stew.

Trien spoke up after a few spoonfuls of stew. "You all must have come a long way for this Cassus Fett."

Wary of releasing information, I held my tongue. Gorman, though, piped up. "Yes, from Nar Shaddaa."

To this, Trien's eyes lit up. "Ah, the vertical city! I have not seen it in years!" He exclaimed excitedly. The mini-krayt on his shoulder cawed, riled by his master's enthusiasm.

" _You've_ been to Nar Shaddaa?" Irkchik asked.

Trien took a sip of water and nodded. "I haven't always 'gone native.'"

"Yah, so what are you then? Some freak that just said the hell with it?" Terran asked. Suuvarsh smacked his shoulder, and Terran shrugged. This was also the first time I was seeing the real Suuvarsh. _She_ took off her helmet to reveal a feminine Ubese face. Weird, and this whole time I had thought she was a guy.

Trien took the remark in jest and smiled. "My grandfather's father, my father and his father, were Lorell pirates. Even though those blasted Jedi routed us, my family stuck to their guns."

I was now curious. "So what happened?" I asked.

"Well, after that Arca Jeth character defeated us, most of the Lorell settled down and colonized Hapes. The rest of us stuck to the old ways. So for the last few generations, we've been living the old life. We made quite a living in the Outer Rim." Trien began. He took a spoonful of stew, then took it down with a gulp of water. "So anyway, while the galaxy was having fun, we were making a racket off the Republic and Mandalorians. No offense there, I hope." He said, looking to me.

Plenty of Outer Rim pirates were squashed like bugs under our boots back in the day, while we were cleaning up those sectors. If some of them managed to live and evade us, then they had my respect. I shrugged. "Whatever."

Trien nodded. "Right. So anyway, when that madman Revan came back as Sith he started conquering the Outer Rim. We thought we could do as we did in the previous war, and make money off these guys too. Well, Revan wouldn't have it. He blockaded our planet, landed troops and nearly killed every single one of us."

"But you escaped. Last of the Mohicans, huh?" Gorman asked.

"Yah something like that. I decided being a pirate wasn't working out. So anyway, during our golden years, we had made routine stops here to Socorro. We traded with the Ibhaan'l often. So I made my way back here, called up some old friends in the tribe, and they let me stay. Isn't that right, Ceylor?" Trien said, picking a piece of meat from the stew and feeding it to the little dragon.

Well, I liked the guy. Making his way in the galaxy, even after his people were annihilated. Good for him. Irkchik clanked his canteen cup with Trien's, and soon enough we finished our meals. One of the tribesmen came over to talk to Trien. They spoke in the Ibhaan'l tongue, and after a few moments Trien turned to us.

"Can we talk to the elders now?" I asked.

"Yes. Please, follow me." Trien said. We stood up, and followed him to a large hide tent. Inside, five elder Ibhaan'l sat in a semi-circle, waiting for us. Trien told us, "Please sit, standing during important meetings is a rude gesture to the Ibhaan'l."

We did so, and sat opposite the elders. Trien sat next to one of the old men, whose beard had turned gray from age. While two of the elders were men, the other three were women. Trien once again acted as the interpreter between us and the natives. For a few minutes he spoke with the elders, then turned to us.

"The elders tell me that in centuries past, the Ibhaan'l and Asilyr tribes warred with each other. Eventually the two tribes ended their war, and while the Ibhaan'l became merchant traders, the Asilyr fought amongst themselves." Trien began.

One of the elders, a woman, talked to Trien now, telling him more. After a few moments, he spoke to us again. "A couple years ago, the Asilyr tribes stopped fighting each other. An offworlder came, took command of one tribe, and then began subjugating the rest through diplomacy and war. They now are a unified tribe, under the single leadership of this offworlder."

The other male elder now spoke to Trien. Our Lorell friend reported back to us soon enough. "This offworlder was a warrior from a faraway culture, which has since become extinct. They say that when he began his conquests of the other tribes, he showed no mercy to those who put up resistance. His message to any tribe he pursued was 'Join or Die.'"

 _Sounds like Cassus alright_ I mused to myself.

"But can you show us where he is?" Palscho asked. Trien conferred with the elders again.

"They say the Asilyr live in the far western reaches of the Doaba Badlands. They tell me there is a steady peace kept with the Asilyr, but that if any caravan crosses into their lands, there will be war. We can escort you to their borders, but beyond that, we cannot go any further."

Well, that was probably about as good as it was going to get. These Ibhaan'l got us this far, taking us to the border would be generous. I looked to the rest of my hunters. Terran scowled and shook his head of course, Munshaan wasn't happy either, but the rest looked in agreement. Irkchik spoke.

"So when do we leave?" The Saurin asked.

"We can take you there in a few hours, before dawn. Get some rest, you will need it."

With that, Trien led us out of the tent to find us a place to crash in. It had been a long day under the desert sun, and we were all tired. Soon enough the Lorell found us a large enough tent we could all fit into. As we were settling down, Gorman insisted on reporting in to his Hutt overseer. Rajja was angry he hadn't reported in sooner, and even more angry about the Ganks being killed. Back on Nar Shaddaa, Gorman would probably face harsh punishment for disappointing the Hutt so much. Too bad, he was a good guy.


	15. Doaba

"Damn, damn, damn."

Cassus swore, as he paced back and forth. The Asilyr chiefs, circled around him in the main planning tent, waited patiently as their leader groaned on. They had learned enough Basic to know he was angry. They knew he had taken casualties, and that his resources were growing thin. That he had to retreat to their safety was of major concern. They watched as he continued his tirade.

"I need a damn ship. I need to get-"

"Mandalore, urgent news!" An Asilyr scout, learned in Basic, rushed into the tent.

"Yes what is it?" Cassus asked, shaken out of his stupor. He stopped pacing to look at the scout.

"The men in Soco-Jarel are dead. Witnesses say it was a gang of heavily armed bounty hunters. They also say there was a Mandalorian with them."

"Blast it all. Not one alive?"

"They killed most of them but left some breathing. They also captured the group's leader."

Cassus closed his eyes and sighed out before pacing again. If they had captured the Shi'ido, then with enough coercion he might've talked. _Damn, damn, damn._

"Very well. What else?"

"We followed them after they captured the leader. They met with an Ibhaan'l caravan, and went with them to their camp."

" _Fierfek_. You're dismissed." Cassus replied to the scout. He left promptly as Cassus turned to the chiefs. It was time to get creative, and Cassus' greatest strength often came when he was cornered by the enemy. "Gentlemen, this is what we're going to do."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

It was still dark out when we awoke. Trien gave us rationed Mutriok meat for breakfast. After a quick bite to eat and a good couple gulps of water, it was time to head out. Trien led us to where a caravan was being prepared. We would ride before dawn, and reach the border before noon. After that, it was up to us to find Cassus and his Asilyr hosts, scattered as they were throughout the desert. It would have been better to wait another day and leave at dusk, but we didn't have time. Who knows where Cassus had gone. We had to find him and end this.

We rode on Druyza mounts, supplied by the Ibhaan'l. They were gracious enough to help us. They risked war with the Asilyr just by escorting us to the border. Maybe they knew that with the "offworlder" disposed of, the Asilyr would fragment again, leaving the Ibhaan'l to expand and conquer as they pleased. The tribal leaders weren't pulling any punches. The caravan we rode with was heavily armed and armored, and numbered over 40 warriors. Our security in reaching the border was of the utmost importance.

As the morning sun continued its slow rise into the skies above, we eventually came to a halt. We had been riding for some hours. Had we reached the border already? Riding on a Druyza, I approached Trien, who was busy talking with the Ibhaan'l. "Why'd we stop?" I asked. Irkchik and the other hunters, on their mounts, joined me too.

Trien turned his mount around to face us, as the Ibhaan'l armed escort dismounted to feed their beasts food and water. "Boys, we go no further. 400 meters due west is the border."

"You afraid, pirate?" Terran asked, prodding with his usual prickish demeanor. Tried smirked.

"The Asilyr are not the only ones we must be wary of. The Bharhulai in the far north keep to themselves, but have been known to make raids into the Doaba wastes. But we will not leave you without supplies." Trien said. Several Ibhaan'l tribesmen walked over, carrying water sacks that they set on the backs of the mounts. It was unfortunate but it was the agreement.

"Thanks for the help Trien. Don't get lost." Irkchik said, shaking his hand.

Trien gave a two finger salute before turning to leave. "See you on the other side."

Now it was us. Trien regrouped with the Ibhaan'l, and within a few minutes they had left. Quite fast. "Well, let's go." I said.


	16. Trouble in Paradise

With our Druyza mounts, we rode off towards the border, in the western Doaba badlands. Riding single file, Palscho was in the lead, then me, Suuvarsh, Gorman, Irkchik, then Terran and Munshaan in the rear. The minutes wore on, until we were riding for an hour. The sun continued rising, the morning heat rose as well. Water stores were slowly depleting as well. Once noon reached, we-

"Alright, no, stop! Just stop!" Terran was shouting. We turned to look at him.

Gorman rode back. "What's the problem?"

"This is ridiculous! We don't know where we're going, we don't even know _where_ we are!"

Munshaan piped up with his buddy. "And we won't have enough water to get back! Do we even know if Cassus is _here_?!"

Irkchik rode back to calm the situation. "Listen it's hot, we're tired, we-"

"Shut up Irkchik, you know this whole venture is stupid! If it wasn't for Fett we would have called this off and told Rajja to stuff it!"

Suuvarsh, in her Ubese language, grumbled something.

" _We're a unit?!_ A unit, really Suuvarsh? Suck my unit!" Terran shouted back.

"Before Fett came along, we only took jobs worth doing! You think we would go after a madman into the desert! This is a joke!" Munshaan threw in.

As they continued arguing, I sat back and watched from afar. Nothing I could say would convince those two idiots to keep going. This was internal. As a bounty hunting group, they had been working together for years. I was an outsider. _Whatever._ Still…we had come all this way for Cassus. We had to get him. He needed to be brought down. These idiots needed to get on board with the program, if we were-

 _We? Do you mean I?_

I shook my head. This wasn't personal. No, it was not personal. This was a job. This was about becoming a bounty hunter. This was about having a career, moving my life forward from the doldrums of yesteryear, and-

A blaster bolt rang off, crashing into Gorman's mount. The Druyza, spooked, rode off towards a rock formation. Gorman could barely control it and kept riding. Terran and Munshaan hadn't shot their weapons, so who-

"The Asilyr are here!" Irkchik yelled, before turning and riding off in pursuit of Gorman. If that was true, our best defense would be taking up position in that rock formation. Several dozen Asilyr tribesmen, popping up out of the black sands wearing desert camouflaged gear, had ambushed us. As blaster bolts fired in our direction, we rode fast for the rock formation. Except for Terran and Munshaan. Taking advantage of the confusion, those two pulled their weapons and started firing on us.

" _Fierfek_ , take cover!" I yelled to the other hunters, who rode off with me. We ditched our mounts, jumping to cover behind large boulders. Gorman, Suuvarsh, Irkchik, Palscho and I returned fire at several advancing Asilyr warriors, who were taken down immediately. We ducked down as more stepped up their fire at us.

Irkchik readied a flashbang and said "I can't believe they turned against us!"

 _Now I can finally take those idiots down_ I thought. "Just keep shooting, they're swarming us!"

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Cassus, armed and armored atop his mount, watched from afar as the Asilyr raiders swarmed Fett and the other hunters. Except for two…a Human and a Stereb. They had turned coat. Interesting…Cassus, flanked by his elites, rode off to intercept the two.

While another wave charged the hunter's position, Cassus rode towards the Human and Stereb hunters. They were attacking the rock formation from another flank, keeping Fett and the rest of them pinned down. No matter. His mounted elites charged into the two, sending them flying into the black desert sand. His warriors dismounted, capturing the two hunters. They were wounded, but not dead. Manhandled by the Asilyr, the two hunters slowly looked up at Cassus, mounted on a Druyza and eclipsing the sun in the sky above.

"Well, well, well. Look at what we have here. Bounty hunters, fighting their own kind. Not all is well in paradise, I take it?"

"Go to hell, Mandalorian scum." Munshaan retorted.

"You first. So tell me, what would make bounty hunters turn against their fellows?"

"Your fool brother!" The Human shouted.

Cassus raised his brow. Had Fett the Younger caused disagreement in that group of bounty hunters that was pursuing him this whole time? Curious, most curious. No matter.

"Interesting. Well then, I think you two still have your uses. Bound them up and let's go!"


	17. Outflanked

The Asilyr had taken position behind a dune on the hill below. Charging straight at our position caused too many casualties. We were unloading suppressive fire on their position, keeping them pinned.

"Keep up the fire, we've got them!" Irkchik shouted.

As I was laying down fire with my rifle, I felt an odd sense of…camaraderie with these hunters. When was the last time I was shoulder-to-shoulder with fellows, using teamwork to take down enemies? From Omman Minor to here, we had worked together to pursue Cassus. This, this was it. My future. As a bounty hunter, I could work with other hunters to track down and take down our targets.

It was all a nice thought, but why the hell were just the Asilyr attacking us? Terran and Munshaan were firing at our other flank, and they had gone quiet. What were they doing?

"What happened to your buddies?!" I shouted back.

"What?!" Palscho asked. In the midst of the confusion, the Ithorian took a blaster bolt to the side of the face, sending him sprawling backwards.

"Don't let up the fire!" Gorman shouted. Amateurs would instinctively think to go for their wounded comrades. Instead, it was better to gain fire superiority, suppress the enemy, and then tend to the wounded. Palscho would just have to suffer for now, poor bugger.

Suuvarsh said something. Irkchik replied "We can't help him, there's more coming!"

Another wave of Asilyr warriors came to reinforce their allies, attacking our flank. I turned to my left to hold them off, unleashing my gauntlet flamethrower while Gorman, Suuvarsh and Irkchik held off the main group. "Right flank!" Gorman yelled.

As he turned to shoot the next group, blaster bolts came shooting from the rear where Terran and Munshaan were. Palscho was groaning in Ithorian garble on the ground, while Suuvarsh and Irkchik took blaster fire in their backs, pegging them against the boulder cover.

"Irchik what's happening back there?!" I shouted back, holding off a wave from the left flank.

When they didn't respond, I took a quick look back to our fighting position. Palscho was rolling around on the ground in pain, while Suuvarsh and Irkchik had face planted against a boulder. Blaster wounds were smoking out of their backs. Covering the right flank was Gorman. As he ducked down to reload, blaster fire forced him from his position. He went down prone, and as he tried to crawl away, blaster bolts ripped into his legs and back, while a final shot smoked the back of his skull. He was finished.

 _Well shit. Shit shit shit shit shit._

I primed a frag and tossed it to the Asilyr on the left flank. As they scrambled to get away, I turned back around to face our main fighting position, as a horde of Asilyr swarmed in. I unloaded my last blaster pack into the horde, so I dropped my rifle and pulled out my pistol. As I shot into the horde, they returned fire, pegging me in the shoulder, chest, and helmet. My Mandalorian armor managed to soak up the bolts, but the pain would sting bad later. That is, if I was still alive.

I backed away towards the left flank. Even if the Asilyr there were alive, there were fewer there than in the fighting position. As I turned to run, _someone_ blocked my way.

"Cassus?!"

There he was, after all this time. He wore his signature armor and battle helmet. His pistol was holstered on his thigh. Before I could react, Cassus quickly grabbed me by the shoulder, and with his other hand gave me a swift punch into my helmet, sending it off my head. I dropped backwards, smashing into the ground. As I shot my weapon arm up to blast Cassus at point blank, an Asilyr got the drop on me, and smashed my head with a blaster rifle.


	18. Damn, damn, damn

I awoke sometime later, and found myself stun cuffed. I was laying on my side on the desert floor. Black sand stuck to my face as I came to. My head felt throbbing, from that damn Asilyr rifle. Shooting pain emanated from my chest and shoulder, where my armor had taken some bolts. My face felt hot, probably sunburnt. I groaned, taking a look around me.

The Asilyr had surrounded me. Cassus stood above me, arms across his chest as he looked down at me. Nearby, another group of Asilyr were standing around over the bodies of Irkchik, Suuvarsh, Gorman and Palscho. I couldn't tell if Palscho eventually died from his wound, or if they finally killed him. Hopefully the latter. Opposite them were Terran and Munshaan, who were somehow still alive. They were bound and gagged, on their knees with their hands behind their heads. Asilyr warriors were standing above them, blasters pointed at their heads. Fools should have stayed with us….or maybe they were right. Maybe we shouldn't have come all this way. Damn, damn, damn.

"Well well well, look who's finally awake. Bit off more than you could chew, _Vod_?" Cassus said, mockingly. He walked around me, as I rolled onto my back. I saw my helmet was a few feet away.

I said nothing as Cassus walked over to Terran and Munshaan. He ripped off their gags to let them talk. "Anything you want to say to your pal there, gentlemen?" Cassus asked.

"This is all your fault, Fett!" Terran yelled.

"Everything was good till you showed up!" Munshaan shouted.

"Thank you gentlemen. Good night and good luck to you two." Cassus replied. He nodded to the Asilyr guarding them, who immediately pumped blaster bolts into their skulls. Terran and Munshaan died immediately. With them dead, I was the last one alive. _Typical_.

I watched them die, then closed my eyes and sighed. My number was coming soon enough. As I lay there waiting to die, I felt myself grabbed me and pulled up. I opened my eyes and saw Cassus had picked me up to stand. Was he walking me to my death?

"Well, here you are Doug. My kin. My family. Fellow Mandalorian. Here on this pit of a world, hunting me. Why is that Doug? Why?"

Standing, I looked around at the Asilyr surrounding us. They watched as Cassus questioned me. I looked back at him. "Does it matter?"

"Of course it does. I haven't seen you in years, now the first time I see you you're hunting me with these mercenaries. You owe me an explanation."

Damnit. Damnit dammit dammit. This was bad. Even if I talk, he would kill me. He was toying with me. Thinking back on the past few years, and all my experiences since, I looked back at Cassus and replied, "It's just business, _Vod_."

He nodded and grinned. Mockingly, maybe? "I can respect that. It's been tough since Malachor. So why bounty hunting?" Cassus asked.

I paused for a moment. He was still toying with me. Guess I'd play along. "To get back at the _aruetiise_ who had hunted me."

"So you decided to hunt _me_?" Cassus said quickly. I didn't want to involve my clients. Dammit.

"I linked up with them. They needed help and I needed a job."

Cassus could tell I was lying as he leveled his eyes at me. He shrugged after a few moments. "Fair enough."

He kept pacing. After a minute, he turned to the Asilyr. He said something in their language, and they walked away. He looked back at me. "Doug, I won't kill you. I don't kill fellow Mandalorians. But I'll tell you this. If you _ever_ interfere with my operations again, if you _ever_ hunt me again, then you are _dead_."

"Underst-"

"We've all been going through rough times since the end of the war. _I get it_ , Doug. But you have to think about what you're doing, _di'kut_."

I shook my head. "You're right. I just-"

"Here. You can show this to your employer." Cassus said. He removed his armor, and pistol, and dropped them at my feet. I was taken aback. What was he doing?

"Cassus, you don't-"

"It has its uses. It'll show your client you finished the job." Cassus replied. Smart thinking on Cassus' part – but not the best way that I wanted to begin my bounty hunting career. My fellow hunters were dead, and the target wasn't even captured. I had no other option though.

"Cousin, I-"

"Don't worry about it. I have resources. Listen, if you ever quit this _bounty hunting_ phase, you should think about coming back to the fold. The Mandalorians _will_ rise again. I promise."

Cassus undid my bounds, then turned to leave. Standing alone, I was at a loss of what to do at the moment. My fellows were dead, and our Druyza mounts had fled. Damn, damn, damn. As I looked around to gather my gear, Cassus turned back to me. "Oh, Doug, you might need this." He tossed me a canteen, and then continued back with the Asilyr.


	19. Hands in many pies

"See you later, I guess." I said dryly, under my breath. I watched as Cassus and the surviving Asilyr mounted back up, then rode off into the distance. Soon enough, they became small dots on the horizon, and I lost sight of them. I took a swig of the canteen, took a sigh, and then walked around to gather my gear. I put my helmet back on, then found my rifle and pistol back in the rock formation. I walked back out, and checked the bodies of my fellows.

Comrades, dead, once again. Mount Tam, Dxun, Malachor, Concord Dawn, and now Socorro. No matter where I went or what I did, whoever worked with me wound up dead. I shook my head, unsure of what to do. Rajja was unlikely to reward me. Even finding my way back to the ship, that was unlikely. This was not good. I paced about, trying to relax. I just needed to think. As I walked, I heard something off in the distance. I looked out and saw…a ship? I rushed into cover in the rock formation, unsure of who was approaching. I watched from hiding as the ship…a shuttle…came closer, hovered nearby, then began landing. I remained hiding behind a boulder, and watched as a platoon of Republic Marines departed the shuttle. Following them was an officer.

As the Marines made a perimeter around the ship, the officer and a few troops inspected the bodies. Minutes went by. I remained hiding. Eventually, the officer looked about, and eyed the rock formation. I ducked for cover. What the hell were these guys doing here?

"I know one of you are still alive! We aren't here to hurt you!" The officer yelled. I remained hidden. I didn't know what they wanted, but I didn't like the situation. My helmet sensors alerted me to the officer and his men coming closer to the formation. "You can come out. _I_ posted the bounty for Cassus."

 _Ah fuck it_. I stood up out of cover and walked out. The Marines aimed their weapons at me but held their fire. There was a dead silence as the officer and I sized each other up. He nodded in recognition.

"Didn't think Rajja would hire a Mandalorian." He remarked.

"Didn't think the Republic cared about Socorro." I replied. He smirked and approached me. He looked back at his Marines, nodded, and they relaxed. He talked to me, one-on-one.

He introduced himself. "I'm Captain Vasiliy, with Republic Special Operations."

"So why post the bounty if you knew where Cassus was?" I asked, getting right to the point. He didn't need to know who I was.

He grinned again. "You know how the Republic is. Why do the dirty work when you can hire some expendables to do it? I'd love to go after Cassus myself, but orders are orders."

"Don't you guys have a war with _Darth Revan_ that's more important?" I asked.

"We have hands in many pies, Mandalorian. That bounty for Mandalorians, and this manhunt for Cassus is just a few of them. Just because we're fighting Revan and Malak doesn't mean we can't deal justice to our old enemies."

Fair enough. I glanced back behind this Vasiliy character, at the shuttle. "Maybe you can give me a ride back to my ship."

Vasiliy looked back at the shuttle, then to me. "I could, but first I'd like to make you a proposition. Republic Special Operations need capable mercenaries, where our boys can't go. If our analysts are correct, you're related to Cassus, another Fett."

"Perhaps."

"We've been tracking a rogue Mandalorian in all corners of the galaxy the last few years. Sevarcos two, Coruscant, Torolis, Nar Shaddaa, Arbra, Foerost, Concord Dawn…and now Socorro. If they're right, then you must be Douglas Fett. They didn't count you among the dead Mandalorians at Malachor, or those who surrendered."

"So what's your point, Captain?"

"Like I said. We need someone capable, to go and do what our boys can't. Can we count on you, when the time comes?" Vasiliy asked.

Wow. After nearly being killed, failing my first bounty mission, now I was being recruited by my old enemies. What a fucking day. I shrugged. "Sure, fine, whatever. Let's just go. I've had enough of this planet."

We got onboard the shuttle. I picked up Cassus' armor and pistol along the way. Those little items had their uses. The Marines got in and the pilot took off. The Captain, sitting next to me, asked, "So, did you really kill Cassus?"

I said nothing. He persisted. "So, where did he go?" Once again I remained silent. He nodded in recognition. "I respect that. One of these days though, we'll get him."

 _We'll see about that_


	20. White Noise

**Y'toub System – Nar Shaddaa**

I had an audience with the Hutt, at his club _Diverso_. Usually, one had to earn the attention of a Hutt to talk with one. In this case, I _had_ to talk to him. _Forced_ was the better term. His Gank thugs, Gorman, and his bounty hunting team were all dead. It was a lost investment and he wanted answers. I stood before him in his Club's loft. The music downstairs kept beating up and down, playing along to the mix of female Human and Twi'lek dancers, while purple and blue stage lights zipped around the entertainment.

"You better have answers for me Mandalorian." Rajja began. His other thugs, flanking him, kept their attention on me. This could get ugly.

"We intercepted Cassus on Socorro. There was a long firefight. He had allies. We defeated them and killed Cassus, but the team was killed too."

Rajja shouted at no one in particular. He was plain angry. After a few moments, he spoke. "Gorman is dead, my Ganks are in a million pieces, and my bounty hunters are food for the carrion birds. And all that's left is you. What am I supposed to do about this, hmm? How do I even know Cassus is really dead, and you're not lying?"

From my utility pouch, I produced Cassus' armor's mantle. It was a face mask, complete with T-visor. I held it up for Rajja to see. Rajja, perched on his dais, looked at it and sighed.

"This is disappointing. I invested a lot in this, and you have nothing to show except Cassus' mask. Mandalorian, the only reason I'm not having you killed is because a very influential associate of mine _requested_ you be put on this job. Consider yourself lucky."

"Understood, Rajja."

"Your credits will be transferred to your account Mandalorian. Now get out of my club!"

I left promptly, back out into the uncaring, infested streets of Nar Shaddaa. The job was done, I was getting paid, and that was it. None of it seemed right though. The job was a failure. My fellows were dead, the target escaped, and here I was lying to my client. Great start to the bounty hunting life.

After a while of walking, I made my way into some bar. It was nothing special, not like a club or anything fancy. Just some place where I could get a drink. I got to the bar counter, and the Duros bartender came over. He asked "What are you having, Mando?"

I ordered an ale, and he went to get one. As I sat on the bar stool waiting, I got a ringing chime sound in my helmet. Identifying it, I was alerted to an incoming message on my ship. The bartender returned with a pint glass. Now more curious about the message, I dropped some creds on the counter and pushed the drink over to the patron next to me. _Whatever._ I left the bar promptly and walked back through the dank streets of Nar Shaddaa.

I returned to the landing pads and got inside my ship. Closing the door behind me, I accessed the message. It was a voice recording from…Zu'mar Duras'sie. Guess he heard about the job too. I clicked 'play' on the dashpanel and listened.

 _Douglas, I heard about the job I sent you on. I'm sorry it didn't go as planned. There may be light at the end of the tunnel though, if you see fit to find it. Some of my associates, a few merchants, are interested in meeting you. They're interested in certain…items you've acquired. If you're not feeling too sentimental about them, perhaps you'd like to meet my associates and make a business transaction? I am sending you coordinates of the meeting location. Till next time, Mandalorian._

I viewed the coordinates he sent, and raised my brow. Interesting…I turned back around in the seat, and looked at Cassus' armor and pistol. I didn't like any of this. I didn't like hunting Cassus, I didn't like other hunters dying, and I didn't like lying. Maybe keeping that armor was like keeping a bad memory. Sitting in my ship thinking, I tuned in to the holonet, just for some white noise. That didn't help either.

 _BREAKING! We've just received word of a Sith attack! According to top sources, the Sith have bombarded Telos with nuclear weapons! We have no word on survivors at the moment, but the estimated losses are in the billions. We'll keep you updated as the situation unfolds!_

I switched off the holonet, upset and somewhat disturbed. Damn shame. Telos was a nice planet, even for a Republic world. I shook my head. After a few moments of thought, I took the ship up off the landing pad, into the skies above Nar Shaddaa, and then blasted off into hyperspace.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/

 **Outer Rim – Yavin System**

 **Yavin Station**

I landed the Basilisk in one of the few landing bays on this old hunk'a'junk, and made my way inside. Walking down a long passageway, broken up by turbo-doors, eventually I reached the main hold, and discovered three Rodians. They looked at me. One of them, an older looking Rodian, approached me. He spoke to me in Huttese.

"Ah, you must be Zu'mar's mercenary he was telling us about. Douglas Fett, yes?"

"Correct."

"My name is Suvam Tan, the owner of this station. I buy and sell rare items for the right price. These are my two associates, Adum Larp and B'ree." Suvam said. Joining him were the other two Rodian merchants, who greeted me cordially. Knowing most Rodians, I would have thought they were mercenaries out to take me down for whatever reason. I had my weapons primed the whole meeting. These three, however, seemed harmless. They were as they said, just simple merchants.

"And what can I help you with?" I asked.

"They are quite interested in those pieces of equipment Zu'mar told us about. Very rare, very unique items. A certain armor set and blaster, yes?" Suvam said. I smirked behind my helmet. Merchants, always looking for a good deal. I knew what they wanted. I had Cassus' armor and blaster pistol stuffed away in a tuft box on the ship.

"You mean Cassus' armor and his pistol." I replied.

"Yes, yes yes yes. Adum and B'ree are offering fair prices for them. Show the Mandalorian what you're offering." Suvam said. The other two Rodian merchants produced datapads from their vest pockets, pressed a few buttons, and showed them to me. I looked at the datapads, and the numbers scrolled across each. Behind my visor, I smiled.

To Adum and B'ree I said, "Gentlemen, let's do business."

 **DOUGLAS FETT MISSION PORTION: COMPLETE**


	21. Epilogue

**EPILOGUE**

Where Cassus Fett went, only he knew. Despite the Republic's best efforts to go after their former foe, the victor of many battles, including Jaga's Cluster, Cassus would remain elusive. His plans, Byzantine and complex, and understood only to him, would prove fateful. Eventually the Mandalorians would rise again, but not under Cassus. When the Mandalorians eventually united again under a single front, Cassus was nowhere to be found. It's surmised that despite his shadowy legacy, Cassus' influence and reach inspired other Mandalorians to continue the Crusade of Re-Unification, as it was later named by historians. Many Mandalorians, including a still unidentified Mandalore, and Feruun Lern, made attempts at re-uniting the Mandalorians. It was not until after the Jedi Civil War that the Neo-Crusaders would rise again under a single figurehead.

With the nuclear bombardment of Telos, the "Sitting War" had finally turned into an all-out war between the Republic and its former saviors, Revan and Malak. Beginning with the attack on Foerost, and other smaller campaigns, the war for the most part was oddly quiet as the Republic waited for the inevitable Sith attack. After Telos, however, the conflict became a full-fledged war on all fronts. Billions of sentients across the galaxy, from citizens to soldiers to crime lords to mercenaries, became involved in what was later called the Jedi Civil War.

The Asilyr tribe of Socorro retained a strong, unified front, even after Cassus left the picture. Eventually they settled their disputes, and proved to be one of the more peaceful tribes of Socorro. The Ibhaan'l as well maintained their peace treaty with the Asilyr, and lived on as merchant traders on the desert world for thousands of years.

Despite the lackluster ending to Douglas Fett's first bounty mission, the young Mandalorian would continue his career. Fett, like many other Mandalorians, had eventually found their calling during this time. While many tried to emulate the wars of yesteryear by becoming mere bandits and raiders on isolated worlds, others became mercenaries for the highest bidder. Fett's rocky start in the bounty hunting world was simply a small step into a larger galaxy.


End file.
